Naruto: The Reckoning
by Vaanarash
Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack has unforeseeable consequences. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise. Everything will change. Everything has changed.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors note**

This story idea hit me like a sledge hammer. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter one of Naruto: The Reckoning

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier. Also, certain things won't be so common in this fic. Two examples being Medic-nin and Sensor-nin. For the former, while every Hidden Village will have some version of it, Konoha's will be the best, because the program will have been built by Tsunade, who is both the greatest Medic-nin that we know of, and the inventor of many Medical techniques, most of which remained in the sole custody of Konoha. Some Hidden Villages will have pretty decent Medic-nin programs, and others will still be using just herbs and such, while others will be anywhere in between.

For the latter, Chakra sensing will actually be something fairly unique, rather than being so common that most ninja can do it. People like Tobirama and Karin will be very rare. For Tobirama, being able to sense and identify twenty members of Kumo's elite shinobi unit from a distance is the kind of thing that adds to his notoriety/legend, while Karin being able to identify and track individual shinobi through her sensing abilities makes her a highly sought after asset. It's uncommon, but other ninja _can_ sense chakra in the way that people can feel a sudden change in air pressure. They recognize that something has happened, but don't know what. People who are better than that but no where near as good as Tobirama and Karin are rare. The exception to this being the Bijuu. When a Jinchuuriki uses their Bijuu's chakra, _every _ninja for miles can feel it, to the point that they could hone in and converge on the source with little effort.

* * *

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter One**

The air was split with screams and the sound of explosions as the shinobi of Konoha fought desperately to defend their home.

Danzo Shimura cursed as he watched more of Konoha's shinobi being slaughtered by the great demon that seemed determined to wipe Konohagakure off the face of the earth. Even as he dashed forward and unleashed a powerful Fuuton jutsu, he could feel the despair rising in the men and women around him.

The jutsu, like everything else, proved useless against the Kyuubi no Kitsune. The beast just shrugged it off and scooped up another two shinobi in its massive jaws before crunching down, reducing the two to chunks of flesh.

He cursed again as he glanced around, looking for that blond fool. Minato had tasked them with holding back the Kyuubi until he could come up with a way to counter it. That had been nearly two hours ago. _'Surely the fool has come to his senses by now,'_ Danzo thought with a grimace.

For all of his genius and skill, Danzo couldn't help but think of Minato Namikaze as a sentimental fool. For one so crucial to Konoha's victory over Iwa, Minato was unacceptably weak-hearted. The man had killed hundreds and single-handedly brought the war to a close. Yet instead of finishing off their enemy once and for all, Minato had sided with the Sandaime and had accepted a peace deal that accomplished nothing.

Oh, it ensured Konoha's place as the strongest Hidden Village, but the borders didn't change, and no amount of "restitution" from Tsuchi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni could bring back the lost shinobi of Konoha. Not even the newly forged alliance with Suna was worth the blood that had been shed.

In the end, nothing had changed, and all because the Sandaime and Namikaze didn't have the stomachs to do what needed to be done. And now, even more of Konoha's shinobi had been lost because the newly instated Yondaime couldn't accept the fact that their only hope was to create a Jinchuuriki. Instead, the Yondaime allowed his sentimentality to blind him to what needed to be done.

Snarling, Danzo threw himself into the fray once more, rallying others to him as he did so. That's the interesting thing about Kage level ninja. When they charge into battle, it grants courage to those around them, urging them to move forward rather than seeking cover.

Dashing through the debris that surrounded the great beast, he hurled kunai and explosive notes towards the Kyuubi. They did little if any damage, but served to distract the monstrous demon, which turned its attention towards him, following his darting form with its malicious eyes.

'_Good…just keep your eyes on me you damned demon!'_ he thought as he dashed in for another strike, only to retreat a short distance when the fox tried to lash out at him.

Scowling when the fox turned away from him to kill another group of shinobi, Danzo barely acknowledged the shinobi and kunoichi who grouped around him looking for guidance.

"Danzo-sama, what should we do?" One shinobi gasped as he tried to steady his breathing.

Another kunoichi landed next to him to report, "Danzo-sama, my squad is almost out of weapons and chakra. Some of the men have almost nothing at all."

"Sir, maybe we should pull back," a young Jounin panted while trying to stem the blood that poured from his arm where a bone protruded from the skin.

Still studying the battle, Danzo absently replied, "No, we can't do that." The situation was getting worse. _'Where are you, Namikaze?'_

"We can't hold it Sir, you know that," the same Jounin tiredly exclaimed with a hint of disbelief.

Shaking his head Danzo replied, "If we don't then that demon will go on through the forests and destroy the village." Growling under his breath, he continued. "We can't leave, and if we stay here we can't stop it, so let's draw it away." Seeing the disbelieving looks around him, he explained. "If we make it angry enough, it'll chase us to the ends of the earth. So we draw it away from Konoha. We'll have the advantage of numbers, so we should be able to keep distracting it."

Making sure to meet the eyes of those around him, Danzo ordered "Move," sending them into action as they spread out to pass his orders on to others.

Just before he threw himself into the fight again, Danzo felt a shudder run through his body. In a different time, he would have ignored it and charged into battle to protect his beloved village. As a result, he would have lost not only his right arm, but also any chance of becoming Hokage. But something happened. Something that would change the course of the history of the Elemental Nations.

He hesitated.

And that changed everything.

That brief moment of hesitation was what stopped him from joining a nearby group of Jounin in a combo jutsu and being caught in a blast of demonic chakra that incinerated the group. He would have been able to dodge, but it would have cost him his arm.

Instead of being horrible mangled and removed by one of the medic-nin who scoured the battlefield, Danzo joined another group and succeeded in drawing the Kyuubi a mile or so away from Konoha before a great cloud of smoke erupted and the ground shook, signaling the arrival of the Yondaime, standing atop the great Toad Boss, Gamabunta.

'_It's about time.'_ Danzo growled angrily. If he knew how, he would have created the Jinchuuriki himself hours ago. Unfortunately, he lacked the sheer genius needed to seal one himself, forcing him to wait on Minato to do what needed to be done.

He watched as the Yondaime performed a series of seals, before a great burst of light blocked out the scene. When the light faded the Kyuubi was gone, and Gamabunta was carefully placing his cargo on the ground. Once done, the great toad disappeared in another cloud of smoke.

Danzo was quick to Shunshin to the Yondaime's body, surprised to find that the man was actually dead rather than unconscious like he expected. And there, cradled in his arms, was a tiny male new born, with a small mop of blond hair, and a burning red seal on his stomach. The Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Scooping the wailing child into his arms, Danzo coldly studied the boy's seal before it hit him.

"My God…" he muttered in horror. Looking down at the deceased Hokage he said, "What were you thinking, Minato?" Danzo could tell just by looking at the boy who his parents were. He scowled angrily at the fallen Namikaze. Once again, the fool had let his sentimentality get the better of him. Now not only had they lost Minato himself, but on top of everything else, they had lost the man's only heir as well.

"You fool…" he growled angrily as he secretly made his way back to Konoha with the boy.

The Yondaime should have chosen to sacrifice an orphan or some civilian child, yet for some reason, the man had actually chosen his own son.

Danzo sighed tiredly. It was a shame; if the boy was anything like his father, he would have made quite the shinobi. Instead, he would be a Jinchuuriki, and the Namikaze line would likely end him. Oh, Danzo knew that the boy wasn't the demon sealed inside him, but that hardly mattered. Jinchuuriki were weapons, and little else. No Namikaze clan would be born from the boy now.

Shaking his head at the man's foolishness, Danzo began planning his next move. First off, he'd have to put a Juin Jutsu on the boy, to ensure his unwavering loyalty. Then he'd have to attend the council meetings to assess the damage to his beloved home, and help reorganize their forces to maintain their military strength. Strength that Sarutobi would no doubt squander if he was allowed to resume power.

Scowling in anger, he arrived at his hidden base under the catacombs of Konoha. Once inside, he was approached by a number of his Root operatives. "Report," he ordered over the child's wailing cries.

A Taka masked shinobi spoke up first, "The Yondaime's body has been recovered, and the Sandaime and the advisors have assumed temporary control." Danzo nodded his head. _'As expected.'_

Another one of his operatives, this one wearing a Hebi mask, approached to deliver his own message. "The Sandaime has discovered that the child is missing. He's ordered a search for the boy and that he be returned alive so that he and Jiraiya can check the seal."

Frowning thoughtfully, a plan slowly forming in his head, Danzo asked, "And the boy's mother?"

Taka answered, "She is resting comfortably in the hospital, her apprentice has been watching over her."

"Does she know?" Danzo asked as his plan slowly came together.

"I can't imagine how she could not know what the Yondaime intended, though I don't think she knows the boy is missing yet."

Narrowing his eyes, Danzo ordered, "Find out." before turning to Hebi as Taka disappeared via Shunshin. "Bring me my sealing kit, and then inform me when the council meets."

"Hai, Danzo-sama." Hebi saluted before leaving to follow his orders.

Alone once again, save for the still wailing infant, Danzo made his way to his office, where he laid the boy on his desk and unrolled a blank scroll while contemplating the Juin Jutsu he'd use. Perhaps he could take a leaf from the Hyuuga's book and use something similar to the Caged Bird seal? Only he'd have to replace the bloodline aspect with something else, perhaps immobilization factors to not only inflict pain, but to bring a halt to the boy's movements. After all, it had happened before when a Hyuuga Branch member managed to push through the pain to lash out at those around them, so this Juin Jutsu would have to affect more than just the head, especially with the power the boy would have at his disposal.

He continued designing the Juin Jutsu in his mind, even when Hebi appeared with his sealing equipment before departing again. Finally, after several hours of planning, Danzo began drawing his Juin Jutsu onto the blank scroll. Once finished with that, Danzo carefully looked over his work for any mistakes. Satisfied, Danzo rolled the scroll up and checked on the boy.

At some point, the child had fallen asleep, allowing Danzo to position him just the way he wanted, before running through a series of hand seals and pressing the scroll onto the boy's forehead. It took only a few seconds for the Juin Jutsu to transfer from the scroll and onto the boy's body, eliciting a new round of screaming from the boy. Once the entirety of the Juin Jutsu had been transferred, the seals that covered the boy began twisting and compressing, until it formed what appeared to be tattoos that framed his face, before traveling down his neck and dividing to journey across the length of his arms, torso and legs. And there, in the center of the boys forehead was the main seal. It was a strange form, one that could not easily be identified. Perhaps it could be said to be shaped like sharp claws breaking through a heavily stylized rib cage. Or perhaps as clawed wings that were barely held together by a pair of curling shackles. The tattoo-like appearance would hopefully keep anyone from realizing too quickly that the boy had a Juin Jutsu on him.

Now he just had to test it. Forming a seal, Danzo triggered the seal, drawing an agonizing scream from the infant. Quickly releasing the seal, he allowed the boy to continue wailing. For now, the ability to activate the seal was his alone, and so long as he was careful, the ability would remain that way.

Glancing up when Hebi entered the room, Danzo realized the council was finally meeting. "Stay here and watch the boy," he ordered as he made his way out the door and continued through the complex and up into the village proper.

The Village itself had taken very little damage during the attack, so he made good time on his way to the Hokage tower and the room where such meetings were held. Once there, he took his seat while waiting for the meeting to get under way. Other than himself and the shinobi clan heads, only Sarutobi and his two teammates, Koharu and Homura were there.

Danzo was pleased to see that Sarutobi wasn't wearing the traditional robes and hat of the Hokage, signaling that he hadn't actively pursued a return to power. _'Excellent,' _he thought to himself as the meeting slowly came to order.

For the most part, the meeting just reiterated what he already knew from the reports of his agents. He spent the majority of it listening with half an ear while he considered his own plans and responses to the current crisis. Danzo was finally snapped from his musings when one of the clan heads – Inoichi - asked, "What of the Jinchuuriki, Sandaime-sama? Have we recovered it yet?"

Danzo watched his old rival carefully. It was this that allowed him to see the anger that passed through his eyes. "We haven't found him yet unfortunately."

"What will we do when we find him? Can we risk killing him?" the Kurama head asked.

"We will not kill him," Sarutobi said angrily. "It was the Yondaime's last wish that the boy be honored as a hero for his sacrifice, and that's what we'll do."

There were more than a few mutters after that comment, before Fugaku Uchiha asked, "Who is he anyway? What clan does he come from?"

Danzo leaned in a little closer, curious as to what Sarutobi would say. When he saw that Sarutobi was about to tell them the truth, he was quick to interrupt. "I believe we have more pressing issues to address rather than a Jinchuuriki's heritage." Seeing that he had everyone's attention, he continued. "We are currently leaderless, and soon the entire Elemental nations will be watching us. We need a Hokage, and before we can try to choose one, we need to find out who is still alive that could qualify for the position. I move that we adjourn this meeting and look into the matter, and then we can reconvene to choose a Hokage."

When no one objected, the meeting quickly came to an end, with each member heading off to see to one of the many issues that needed resolving. Danzo was no different, as he now saw a way to accomplish the first step of his goals for peace. He'd have to move quickly, but if all went well, the Godaime Hokage would be instated before the end of the week.

* * *

Sarutobi scowled as Danzo made his way from the chambers. The man was planning something; of that much he was sure.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Sarutobi made his way back to the hospital to deliver some bad news. He hadn't yet told Minato's wife that her son was missing, hoping that they would be able to find little Naruto before it became necessary. But already, she was beginning to suspect something was wrong, and Sarutobi didn't know how much longer he could keep it from her.

'_Where are you, little Naruto?'_ he thought tiredly to himself as he slowly made his way to a private room in the hospital. Just as he reached the room, he heard a young woman's voice from inside the room. And she sounded angry.

"Damn it Jiraiya, how much longer is this going to take? Where's Naruto-chan?" there was brief pause during which Sarutobi assumed Jiraiya was speaking until the woman continued "No, don't you tell me to calm down! I know something's wrong, and if you don't tell me where my son is, then so help me I'll break every bone in your body!" Hearing a young girl's voice protesting, Sarutobi quickly entered the room.

He was greeted by his nervous male student a good six feet from the bed and a girl in her early teens trying to keep the room's occupant from rising from her bed and making good on her threat.

The blond woman in the bed turned towards the door with a hopeful/excited look on her face before scowling when she saw that he was alone.

She wore a hospital gown and her long hair was out of its' usual pony tails and was rather bedraggled at the moment, partially covering a small blue diamond on her forehead. She wasn't exactly in tip top shape considering that she had just given birth less than half a day ago, yet she still seemed to…glow? Radiate happiness?

He couldn't really tell, though she was obviously still very, very angry by the look in her eyes and her grinding teeth.

"Sensei," she slowly ground out. "Where. Is. My. Son?"

For a brief moment, Sarutobi considered lying, or trying to change the subject, but one look at Tsunade and her apprentice dissuaded him. Tsunade looked ready to go tearing through the hospital until she found her son, despite her weakened condition. Shizune, despite being more than a little intimidated by the three power houses in the room, looked more than a little upset herself.

They had requested that she keep Tsunade calm while he and Jiraiya "checked the seal" to make sure everything had gone well.

Outside of Minato, no one in this room had approved of using little Naruto for the sealing. Tsunade and Shizune had opposed it for obvious reasons, and Jiraiya hadn't made it back to the Village until the decision was already made -though in the man's defense, Naruto hadn't been due for another three or four days, and Jiraiya had still rushed back as fast as he could once the Kyuubi appeared- and Minato had left with Naruto. Sarutobi himself hadn't wanted his student's first child to be used either, since she was like a daughter to him, and that made little Naruto his grandson. Despite such overwhelming opposition, Minato had somehow managed to gain their assent through sheer force of will.

He was shaken from his thoughts when he heard Shizune's cry of dismay just before Tsunade grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Where is he!" she all but screamed in rage and more than a little fear.

Feeling a wave of guilt crash through him at her state, Sarutobi looked away from her beseeching eyes and said just three words. "We don't know."

* * *

"Wh-what did you say?" Tsunade stammered as she tried to maintain her anger. At least she knew how to deal with anger. Fear was another thing entirely. When her hands started shaking so hard she couldn't hold Sarutobi up anymore for fear of snapping his neck, she tried to tell herself it was just her rage. When her vision began to blur, she struggled to convince herself that it was only her anger and nothing more.

"What do you mean "you don't know"? Where is my son!" she vaguely took notice of the shrieking quality her voice was starting to take. "What have you done with him!" she tried to shake Sarutobi by his collar, but found that she was the one to move as her legs buckled under her. Sarutobi was quick to grab her and she clung to his arms as the tears slowly began to run down her face.

Less than a second later, she felt Jiraiya and Shizune gently grab her and help her back into the bed. Looking up at them, Tsunade was greeted by a wide-eyed Shizune and a grim/concerned Jiraiya. Distantly, she wanted to crush his skull for keeping this from her, but her mind was far too occupied to see it through.

Her son, her _baby _was missing. Was he alright? Was he safe? What if he had been hurt? What if he was out there, cold and alone, crying out for his mother? What if he had been taken? What if…what if he was dead? All these thoughts and more tore through her mind as her breathing became shallow and her heart raced.

She had already lost so much. Her clan, her brother, her lover, and now her husband. Surely God couldn't hate her so much that she'd have to lose her son too… right?

She was drawn from her thoughts when she felt a slightly wrinkled hand grasp hers in a grip so tight that it nearly hurt her of all people. Looking up, she was greeted by the sight of her old sensei, kneeling by her bed and gazing at her with the fiercest look of determination she had ever seen. Sarutobi placed his other hand on top of hers and said, "I will find him, I swear it. I will not rest until I've brought Naruto back to you safe and sound. I promise, even if I have to tear this Village apart, I'll find him."

Tsunade could tell that Sarutobi meant every word. Especially since, if there was anyone more excited than her and Minato about her pregnancy, it was him.

Indeed, when they had found out she was pregnant just a few short months after she and Minato married, Sarutobi had been ecstatic. Within the first month, not only had he bought them everything he thought they could possibly need -ranging from a crib to diapers, to absurdly large plastic chains for their cabinets- but he had also done the same to his own house, in addition to an unreal amount of baby toys. When asked why he had "baby proofed" his own home and stocked up on toys, his response had been…interesting. He had just blinked a few times and said "So I can spoil my grandchild rotten of course."

Feeling at least a little reassured by her sensei's words, Tsunade turned to her own student. "Shizune, go get me something to wear. I'm going to go find my son," she said as she made to get out of bed again.

Shizune of course, objected. "But Tsunade-sama! You're still weak, and you need to rest more before you try to move around-"

"Don't you quote medical procedure at me!" Tsunade growled, "I'm not going to sit in here while my baby is out there somewhere!"

Shizune tried to object again, but was interrupted by a new, gravelly voice. "That won't be necessary, Tsunade-hime."

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice as he walked through the door.

"What do you want, Danzo?" Sarutobi asked in a level voice that was betrayed by the anger in his eyes.

If Danzo noticed his anger, he didn't show it as he answered. "Want? Why, I'm just here to let Tsunade-hime know that her son was safe, that's all. But if you don't want to hear what I have to say…" he trailed off as Tsunade slowly stood to her feet and cracked her knuckles while Jiraiya put a hand on her shoulder.

Hopefully, he wouldn't be able to tell that she stood slowly because of her current weakness, and that Jiraiya grabbed her shoulder to help steady her, not stop her from tearing the old gizzard's spine out.

"Careful now. I'm only a Kage Bunshin, so if you attack me, you'll only be hurting yourself…and your child." Danzo warned as he slowly moved away from the door.

Tsunade felt her breath -and her rage- hitch at the not so subtle threat to her baby. "What have you done to Naruto?" Jiraiya demanded with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Instead of answering, Danzo looked contemplative as he said "So, Naruto is his name? Maelstrom…yes, it's a good name, a strong name. You chose well, Tsunade-hime."

"Err…right…Maelstrom…" Shizune muttered in embarrassment, since she didn't know who this Danzo person was and as such didn't want to point out the rather embarrassing source of Naruto's name.

"As for what I've done to Naruto…well, I did put a Juin Jutsu on him of course."

"I'll kill you." Sarutobi said calmly, as if he were talking about the weather. "Where ever you try to run, where ever you try to hide, I'll find you, and I will kill you Danzo."

"Come now, Sarutobi." Danzo chided. "You know you should hear all that I have to say before you try to antagonize me."

"W-why? Why would you put a Juin Jutsu on Naruto-chan? He's just a baby!" Shizune asked in horror.

Danzo just glanced at her with his single good eye before sighing. "Unfortunately, he's not just a baby. Not anymore. He's a Jinchuuriki now and as such, he must be properly prepared and controlled." Turning his gaze back to Sarutobi, he continued. "I knew you wouldn't have the stomach to do what needed to be done, so I had to step in. My only regret is that Minato was such a fool."

"What did you say?" Jiraiya growled dangerously.

Tsunade would have been angry too at the slander of her husband, but her mind was far too occupied on other matters. Danzo had her baby, and he put a Juin Jutsu on him. She knew full well how painful a sealing was to a human, and Naruto had been through it not once, but twice! And he wasn't even a day old yet!

"You heard me." Danzo answered. "First he dithered for hours when he knew that a Jinchuuriki was our only hope at stopping the Kyuubi, and then he used his own son for the vessel. It would have been much better had he chosen an orphan. Even a civilian child would have been better! But I'm getting off topic."

"What do you want?" Tsunade asked in a voice barely above a whisper. She knew that he wouldn't be here unless he wanted something from them.

"It's nothing so horrible, Tsunade-hime. I just want to protect Konoha, and create a lasting peace. We're just going to take the first steps today, that's all."

Seeing that he had their attention, he turned first to Sarutobi. "You will step out of the consideration for Hokage and support me when I'm nominated tomorrow." Turning back to her and Jiraiya, he finished. "And you two will continue to serve Konoha loyally. So you see, I'm not asking for much. But before you decide, I'd like you to listen to something." Reaching into his robes, Danzo's Kage Bunshin pulled out a short range radio, which he switched to on and transmitted a simple "Go ahead."

When the reply came, it was Danzo's voice once again. "I take it you heard my…requests. So I'll let you know just what kind of Juin Jutsu I placed on your son."

Tsunade's eyes widened in horror just before she heard a baby screaming in agony. And somehow, she just knew, that was her Naruto-chan screaming. "Stop it! Please, stop I beg you!" she sobbed painfully. She didn't care about appearances or her own comfort zone anymore, all she cared about was that her son was in pain.

The Kage Bunshin clicked off the radio and sighed. "I am sorry that was necessary. But if you agree to my requests, then I'll have another offer for you." Tsunade quickly agreed through her tears as she collapsed back onto her bed. Shizune was at her side in an instant, trying to comfort her despite her own tears.

Jiraiya clenched his hands and asked "And what if we refuse? Do you really expect us to believe you'll kill Naruto after all the effort you've put into this?"

Danzo just snorted. "Despite his potential, Naruto will be useless for at least another five years. And if you turn down my offer, then you and Sarutobi will try to make good on his threat. At which point, the child would be of no use to me anyway," he shrugged before continuing. "It's a gamble to be sure. But it's a gamble that I'll win."

There was silence for minute, save for Tsunade's quiet sobs, before Jiraiya clenched his fists and hissed, "Fine!"

Looking up at her sensei, Tsunade saw something she had never seen before. Sarutobi was angry. No, angry didn't come close to justifying the way he looked. It was if the fires of the sun itself were compressed into his eyes as he stared at Danzo with a hate that she had never seen before. Slowly reaching out, she grabbed Sarutobi's sleeve and whispered. "Please, Sensei…"

He didn't look at her for a terrifying second, and then he sighed almost inaudibly and asked. "If we agree, will you return Naruto to us?"

Danzo resolutely shook his head. "I can't allow that. Konoha has been dangerously weakened by this attack. Naruto will be crucial to our survival should one of our enemies attack us. In a way, you are responsible for this. The threat from Iwa and Suna could have been dealt with permanently during the war. Now, we can't take any chances that they might attack us."

Tsunade looked up at the Bunshin with pleading eyes, but Danzo continued before she could say anything. "This does bring us to my offer. As I said, Naruto will be useless until he is old enough to begin his training. During that time, he'll have to be looked after by someone." Tsunade felt her heart begin to swell with hope as the Bunshin gave his offer. "I'm willing to allow you to care for him, Tsunade, until his third birthday. Then, I will personally examine him to see if he is ready to begin the training. If he isn't, he'll be returned to you for another six months, and then examined again, and so forth."

"I accept." Tsunade said without hesitation. She didn't care what the conditions were, so long as she got her son back. And once that happened, she'd get Jiraiya to work on removing that monstrous seal from Naruto. Then…she'd kill Danzo. Slowly.

Danzo shook his head. "Listen to the whole thing before you agree. You will both be watched around the clock. Understand, you cannot publically be his mother. Naruto can never be a Namikaze, or a Senju. He must remain apart. He'll be… an Uzumaki. It fits well enough with his name and since the clan is extinct, no one will be able to prove otherwise. Also, the Juin Jutsu can be activated from a great distance, and I've already spread the activation seal to others under my command. If you try to remove the Juin Jutsu, we'll kill him. If you try to kill me, my men will kill him." Danzo stared her down, trying to ensure that she understood everything that he was saying.

For her part, Tsunade felt her rage grow once again. This…this _thing_ would dare deny her son his heritage? His mother! But under her rage, she felt a sense of hopelessness take hold of her. It seemed that Danzo had planned this very carefully.

"So that's it then? I get my son back for three years and then you take him from me again? You're going to take away my son's family? And you expect me to just go along with this?" her voice grew angrier and louder the more she talked, until she was screaming in rage.

Danzo frowned thoughtfully before asking, "You weren't listening at the end, were you?" Shaking his head he said "Once he begins training, and throughout his shinobi career, he'll need a doctor. Preferably, one of the best. I'm willing to let _you_ be his personal physician. I'll even promise to take everything you have to say about his health into consideration in all things, training and missions included." Tsunade blinked in shock as he continued. "If you say his body can't handle the training regime we give him, I'll scale it back. If you say that he needs rest before a mission, I'll grant him as much time as possible. I'm willing to take your advice on anything that pertains to his health," he offered before frowning. "Within reason," he added.

Tsunade couldn't believe what she was hearing. After all his talk about keeping them from being a family, he offered to let her be her baby's personal doctor? Granting her unlimited access to Naruto, whenever she wants? Why?

"What are you hoping to achieve from this, Danzo? Why stress that I can't be Naruto-chan's mother, and then give me such unlimited interaction with him?"

Danzo sighed once again. "This entire situation is unfortunate. As for why I'm allowing you to be with Naruto, well it's simple. I want you. I want your skills and techniques to be put to use for the good of Konoha. It will be far easier to keep Konoha safe if I have you three at my disposal. And granting you access to Naruto _Uzumaki_ will accomplish that."

Tsunade chewed her lip in thought. On the one hand, she loathed to agree with anything this man asked of her. On the other, this deal would grant her access to her son and time. Time for her, Jiraiya, and Sarutobi to find a solution.

Slowly, she nodded her head in agreement. Once Jiraiya and Sarutobi agreed as well, Danzo said, "Very good. I'm glad we could come to an agreement. I'll see you in the morning, Sarutobi."

When Danzo's Kage Bunshin made to dismiss himself, Tsunade quickly called out. "Wait! What about Naruto-chan?"

"Don't worry, Tsunade-hime." Danzo replied. "He'll be brought to you as soon as I dismiss myself." With that, the Bunshin dispersed, leaving them alone once again.

It was the longest, most agonizing twenty minutes of her life as she waited for her son. The silence was broken only by Shizune's shifting, or Jiraiya's teeth grinding. Finally, just as she thought she would go insane, there came a knocking at the door.

She fixed her eyes on the door and waited for an eternity as Sarutobi walked over and answered it. Standing there was a dazed nurse, holding a crying infant in her arms.

"Excuse me Sandaime-sama, but a man came in off the streets and said he found this baby and that you were looking for him," she said as she carefully handed the little bundle in her arms to Sarutobi.

"I see, thank you. Did you recognize the man by any chance?" Sarutobi asked kindly, much to Tsunade's dismay.

The nurse opened her mouth, paused, tried again, and then blushed. "I'm sorry Sandaime-sama, I can't seem to remember."

"Genjutsu," Jiraiya muttered, unaware of just how little she cared at this point. The only thing keeping her from going over to Sarutobi and tearing her son from his arms was that she didn't think her legs could carry her that far. So she just glared at her old sensei and restrained herself from shouting "Close the damn door and give me my son!"

It was a struggle, but she managed to keep from exploding long enough for Sarutobi to dismiss the nurse and finally bring her son to her.

Whatever biting comments she might have had for her sensei faded away as she finally took her son into her arms once again. She had intended to run a diagnostic scan on him as soon as she got him back, but she found herself too busy as she simply held him close and stared at him.

She had only held him for few brief minutes before Minato had taken him off to the battle, but she would recognize him anywhere. "It's alright, Naruto-chan. Kaa-chan's got you, and she's never going to let you go," she soothed her crying son as her eyes drank in his features. She slowly took in his physical changes from the sealing. Other than a trio of thin lines on his cheeks, he appeared the same.

Only after she realized that Shizune had moved closer and begun running the same Diagnostic jutsu Tsunade had intended to, did she finally turn her attention to the abomination that sat on his forehead.

It appeared to be a strange design, somewhat like claws breaking through a heavily stylized rib cage. From there, a number of thorn-like markings traveled down the sides of his head, cheeks, and neck. Presumably, the markings continued under his swaddling and across his body. If she didn't know any better, she might have assumed they were a result of the Kyuubi's sealing, much like his "whisker" marks.

In a distant part of her mind, she registered her rage growing once again at Danzo and what he had done to her son. "How is he?" she asked her apprentice as she finished her scan.

"I think he's fine, Tsunade-sama. He doesn't seem to have any physical ailments or deficiencies." Shizune reported as she stepped back from the bed. For a brief moment, her apprentice was the model Medic-nin, completely professional. Then she suddenly broke into a wide smile. "He's sooo _cuuute_! Can I hold him, Tsunade-sama? I promise I'll be careful!" Shizune asked in a typical thirteen-year-old girl fashion.

"Maybe later," Tsunade answered absentmindedly as she continued to stare at her now sleeping child.

She glanced up as Sarutobi and Jiraiya got closer to get a better look at Naruto. They all looked on in silence for a moment, before Jiraiya placed a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "Hime," Jiraiya spoke softly but firmly, "we need to check the seals."

She didn't even look at him, just slowly and gently unwrapped Naruto's swaddling to expose the seals that covered his body. "Make it quick." Tsunade said softly, "He can't hold in his body warmth yet."

Jiraiya nodded as he and Sarutobi leaned in to get a better look at the seals. After a minute, they stepped back and let Tsunade rewrap Naruto.

She let them mutter to each other for a minute, before finally asking, "Well?"

The two men exchanged glances, and after a moment, Jiraiya spoke up. "Minato's seal seems to be perfect. He truly was a genius when it came to seals. There shouldn't be any problems at all and even if there were, Sensei and I could deal with it." Jiraiya had a look of saddened pride on his face as he spoke.

Tsunade let out a soft sigh of relief, before asking, "And the other one?" She felt her dread return when Jiraiya winced.

"Hime…" he began slowly. "There's no way to study what Danzo did while the seal is in its compressed state. And I can't uncompress the seal without knowing _how. _Added to that, I can't even try to uncompress it without running the risk that Danzo's added in safeguards." Jiraiya scowled angrily before continuing. "The bastard is pretty clever. No blatant threats, just our own fears as to what _might _happen if we try to tamper with it. I can't even say for sure that the seal actually does what Danzo says it doe-."

"It does." Tsunade interrupted, taking her eyes off Naruto for the first time since she got him back. "We heard his screams, and I know it was Naruto-chan," she said as she held Naruto a little closer.

"So…what are we going to do?" Shizune asked quietly.

There was silence for a brief moment before Sarutobi answered quietly. "We have to do what he wants, at least for now."

Jiraiya looked like he wanted to object, but Sarutobi continued. "We have three years before he comes for Naruto. Three years to find a way to stop Danzo, or to remove his Juin Jutsu from Naruto. After that, we'll still have time, but I fear what Danzo will have put into action by then. Our only other option is to call his bluff."

No one bothered to respond to that.

* * *

Danzo let out a tired sigh as he sent one of his operatives to deliver Naruto to the hospital. In truth, he hadn't been as sure of his success as he had made it seem. If it were any other child, or if Tsunade had been dead, than he was fairly certain that Sarutobi would have made good on his threat. Even now, he was taking a rather serious risk, betting everything on the one thing he hated most about Sarutobi. His sentimentality.

It was ironic how much the very trait of Sarutobi's that led Danzo to seek the title of Hokage by force would be so key to his possible success.

Sighing, Danzo turned his mind to his next steps. Sarutobi's withdrawal and support wouldn't be enough to achieve his goals.

Ordinarily, a Hokage would nominate their own successor, with the approval of the Daimyo, and then the Jounin of the Village would vote on whether or not to accept that nomination. However, since the Hokages have all been trusted and highly respected when nominating their successors, most of the Jounin accepted without complaint.

Even Danzo had accepted Sarutobi's ascension back during the First Great Shinobi War. Only during the selection of the Yondaime was there any real dissent, and most of that dissent came from Orochimaru and his followers.

This time however, the Hokage would not be chosen by their predecessor, but essentially by the Jounin themselves. Sarutobi giving his support to Danzo would gain him many votes, but it might not be enough. Which was why he had had to prepare meetings with two members of the most prestigious clans in the Village. Fugaku Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuuga.

He scowled at the thought of the Uchiha. He had never been able to trust that clan, even before Madara showed his true colors. And the fact that the Kyuubi could have only been summoned by an Uchiha was more than a little troubling. Still, that clan's support, or at least, so long as they didn't oppose him, could tip the balance in his favor.

Hizashi on the other hand, was well respected among the Hyuuga Branch family, and was seen by many clan members as the "Head" of the Branch Family. Danzo could accomplish the same thing with the support of the Branch family that the support of the Uchiha would.

Either one of these two clans actively opposing him might be enough to ruin his plans. But the support of one, or even both could make things much easier for him.

The problem was what they would ask for in return. Hizashi was simple enough to guess, and while Danzo was by no means an opponent of Juin Jutsu seals, the way the Hyuuga went about it was dangerous and inefficient. All the Main Family had managed to do since the creation of the Caged Bird Seal was to create dissension and mistrust within the clan. Hizashi would no doubt ask for the removal of the seal, and while the previous Hokages had "left clan business to the clans" Danzo had no such qualms.

Besides, if he did abolish the Caged Bird seal, then he would likely gain unwavering loyalty from the Branch Family which could only aid him in the long run.

Fugaku on the other hand, would no doubt ask for the one thing that the Uchiha clan had lacked since the Nidaime's reign. Positions of governance within the Village. Something that Danzo did not want to give to such an untrustworthy clan.

With plans and calculations swirling in his head, he made his way back out into the Village. If everything went well, he could take the first step in ensuring the safety and security of Konoha.

* * *

It took several days for the various clan heads to get an accurate count on who was left among the Jounin. Once that was accomplished, they had come together again to make a decision on the Village leadership.

Sarutobi kept a blank face as the various clan heads and Village Elders took their seats and the meeting began. He barely noticed when Homura began the meeting; instead he just stared at Danzo.

The man gave nothing away, sitting calmly and even adding his own input to the reports and conversations going on around them. Almost as if he hadn't threatened and blackmailed three different kage level ninja. Something Sarutobi himself was still shocked by. Not that Danzo would blackmail a kage level ninja, no that was something Danzo had always been capable of.

But Sarutobi would have never believed his old friend would do such a thing to _him_. Even if they weren't as close as they were in their youth and didn't always agree on the best path for the Village to take -Sarutobi preferring to follow in Hashirama Senju footsteps and attempting to forge strong bonds of friendship and peace whereas Danzo took a more cynical approach- he had always respected Danzo and his advice, and had believed that Danzo returned that respect.

He honestly felt betrayed at the way Danzo had turned on him, and angry that the man would use Tsunade's son against him. Sarutobi was particularly blindsided by the fact that Danzo apparently _truly_ believed that he would lead the Village to its ruin if allowed to resume power. Enough so that Danzo was not only willing to risk his own life to prevent it, but was prepared to go against _three_ different kage level ninja in the process. And while Danzo's abilities had rivaled his own for much of their lives, neither of them would have been capable of going up against both Tsunade, Jiraiya, _and_ a third shinobi of equal or greater skill. But Danzo hadn't even hesitated, which meant the man was either _extremely_ confident, or his conviction was _that _powerful.

Perhaps the worst thing of all, Sarutobi knew that today would be his last chance to stop Danzo's plans. And all he'd have to do was condemn a newborn infant to death. Oh, and destroy his student's life.

Two sacrifices and he could stop whatever Danzo was planning. Simple right? After all, he had sacrificed hundreds of lives during the wars, so what was two more? Granted, these two were far closer to him than most of the others had been, but he could do it. He was the God of Shinobi after all. He was the Sandaime Hokage. He could do it. He should do it. So why was Danzo, and by extension, Naruto, still breathing?

Sarutobi absentmindedly went through the number of ways he could kill Danzo, from a lighting fast kunai throw, to a Ninjutsu that would level the entire block.

And through it all, that one eyed bastard kept breathing, kept talking, kept answering questions and making suggestions. He felt his rage growing as he watched the meeting progress, yet he kept it suppressed with some difficulty.

Yet he knew the answer to that as well. It _wasn't_ that simple. If he killed Danzo, if he killed _Naruto_...then Sarutobi would undoubtedly have to kill Tsunade as well. His most passionate student would _never_ accept Naruto's death, not even for the good of the Village. If Sarutobi killed Naruto by his actions, Tsunade wouldn't rest until he was dead as well. And while Sarutobi was willing to except that, he wasn't naive enough to believe that Tsunade would stop there. If he took the last of her family from her, Tsunade would turn all of her rage and hatred on Konoha as a whole. And considering the damage caused not only by the Kyuubi, but the Third Great Shinobi War that had just ended...Konoha was unlikely to survive her rampage. Or at least, not for long.

And one of the other Villages would no doubt be quick to take advantage of the chaos. That didn't even take into account what _Jiraiya_ might do if Sarutobi sacrificed his godson and the son of his beloved student. Perhaps he would understand the necessity of such a sacrifice...but he would never accept Tsunade's death. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Glancing back at his former friend, Sarutobi yet again considered making one more sacrifice. Which would be the better option? Which scenario would allow the best chance for Konoha to survive? How long would it take to remove Danzo from power once his hold on Naruto was broken? How long would it take to undo whatever damage he may or may not do to Konoha? How much damage _would_ there be? Though Sarutobi knew that Danzo would never _deliberately_ harm Konoha unless there was no other option, that didn't mean there wouldn't be unitended effects.

Danzo met his gaze, and stealthily placed one of his hands in a seal that Sarutobi couldn't quite see. He released it a split second later, yet Sarutobi was sure he could hear the agonized wail of little Naruto. And in that moment, Sarutobi made his decision.

"Now that we're all caught up," Homura said, breaking Sarutobi out of his thoughts, "If no one has any objections, I suggest that Sarutobi retake his position as Hokage. We need a strong, and trusted shinobi to lead the Village through these troubled times, and Sarutobi has done a fine job of leading us for over thirty years."

Sarutobi kept his gaze locked on Danzo's. For a brief moment, he pondered what would happen if he accepted. Would Danzo actually carry out his threat, or would admit defeat? But that moment was washed away as he pictured the woman who was like a daughter to him, sitting in a bed with the grandchild he never had in her arms, a content look on her face. And he cursed himself for his weakness, even as he spoke up. "I'm afraid I must decline."

"Sarutobi, you can't be serious!" Koharu exclaimed. "What possible reason could you have to refuse?"

Sarutobi didn't glance at Danzo. He didn't do anything that would give away what was happening. Instead, he put his considerable acting skills to work and put on the air of the tired old man he felt like. "I'm sorry, Koharu, Homura. But I no longer believe myself capable of being Hokage."

"What do you mean, Sandaime-sama?" Hiashi questioned in confusion. "Why would you feel that you were no longer qualified after everything you've done?"

Sarutobi let out a tired sigh, then -ironically- told them the truth. "I find myself no longer able to make the required sacrifices for the good of the Village. I can't even sacrifice my own happiness when necessary. I cannot become Hokage again when I'm such a coward."

"Surely you can't blame yourself for the Yondaime's death?" Homura asked. "We all know how hard you tried to convince him to let you perform the sealing of the Kyuubi. If anything, this just shows the kind of fortitude you and Minato-sama possess."

Sarutobi could only shake his head. "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept."

The room descended into chaos at this unexpected development. After a few minutes, Koharu began trying to regain order. "Please, quiet down! If Sarutobi is unwilling to take up the position, then we must try to find another. We cannot sustain ourselves for long without proper leadership. Does anyone have any suggestions for the position of Godaime?"

There were several moments of low conversing among the various council members before a deep voice called out, "I nominate Danzo-sama."

Sarutobi looked up in surprise as he recognized the voice. _'How could he possibly have gained _his_ support of all people? Danzo despises him.'_

Fugaku Uchiha stood tall amongst the various clan heads. "If Sandaime-sama isn't willing to take the position, then it seems obvious that the one other man who was considered for the position of Sandaime would be the best choice."

"Don't be absurd," Inoichi Yamanaka said disdainfully. "He might have been considered, but he was also rejected. Maybe we should consider Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-hime? After all, not only are they kage level, but they were trained by Sandaime-sama and are still at their peak."

Inoichi's suggestion generated quite a bit of talk, enough to suggest that Danzo would be rejected for the title once again.

It killed him that he had to help that bastard subvert his Village and gain power. "I don't believe that either of my students are prepared for such a responsibility," Sarutobi spoke over the conversing heads.

"But Sandaime-sama-" Chouza began, only to be interrupted.

"While both Jiraiya-kun and Tsunade-chan are powerful enough, neither of them possess the traits needed to be Hokage," Sarutobi explained, careful to keep his true thoughts to himself. "Tsunade-chan is an obsessive gambler and can barely stand Konoha. And Jiraiya-kun despises any paperwork that doesn't have to do with porn. Neither of them would accept the position, even if they were qualified."

Shikaku Nara and Hiashi exchanged glances as others began discussing the Sandaime's words.

'_I'm sorry…'_ Sarutobi thought to himself just before he damned his soul. "I believe our best option is to nominate Danzo as the Godaime."

All talk came to a complete stop as he spoke those damning words.

"Sarutobi…what has gotten into you?" Homura asked in shock. "I understand that you're feeling shaken by the events of the last few days, but to actually support Danzo of all people…" he trailed off, seemingly unable to complete his sentence as he stared wide-eyed at the Sandaime.

"You've often opposed Danzo's policies in the past, so why the change of heart?" Koharu asked in confusion.

Sarutobi looked away from his old teammates before answering. "It's true that Danzo and I haven't always agreed in the past. But I've always respected his abilities and I have no doubt that he loves Konoha as much as I." Gazing around the room, he met the gazes of each person in the room. "If there is anyone capable of protecting our Village, it's him."

His teammates exchanged glances while the other heads began debating the issue, some in support, some in opposition.

"Very well then." Homura said, drawing the attention of the rest of the room. "We'll announce Danzo's nomination and let the Jounin take a vote. If no one has any objections, this meeting is adjourned."

* * *

**Translations**

Juin Jutsu=Curse seal

Fuuton=Wind Release/Style

Yondaime=Fourth Lord

Godaime=Fifth Lord

Hime=Princess

Hebi=Snake

Taka=Hawk

Shunshin=Body Flicker

Kage Bunshin=Shadow Clone

Kaa-chan=Mommy

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**AN:** Well, there you have it. I know that Danzo didn't really lose his arm in canon, but for the sake of this story, let's say he did. I wrote this around the time Danzo ran into Madara, so let's just pretend we don't know about a Sharingan/Mokuton arm (which has to be one of the most retarded things kishimoto has done).

I recently got an anonymous review for this chapter that I really wanted to reply to. Obviously, I can't because it was anonymous, so I'll be doing it here. If you have any issues with this chapter, specifically how Danzo blackmailed Tsunade and company, please check below and see if I've already addressed it.

**The Review**

_Really? Minato was so utterly retarded that he just left a baby, his son, in the middle of the battlefield? And how convenient, Danzo saw it all, was the first one to get there, took the baby for himself. rofl_

_Not the most retarded plot device ever, but certainly up there with the worst of 'em. Also, I'm pretty sure that old fart couldn't dictate terms to two Sannin and a Kage just because he's got a remote killswitch on a baby they care about. If not Tsunade or Sarutobi, then Jiraiya is certainly bold enough to tell him to fuck off. All three of them are literally the three strongest shinobi Konoha has. If he kills Naruto, he loses the Kyuubi until it reforms, or he rips out the Kyuubi, either way he needs to recreate a Jinchuuriki, something you CLEARLY stated he isn't capable of doing. And afterwards, Jiraiya/Sarutobi/Tsunade would simply kill him. If they wouldn't, they'd just flip off Konoha (at the very least Jiraiya and Tsunade would) and the Village he cares so much about loses two shinobi ICONS who can singlehandedly change the tide of a war. Suppose Konoha's enemies hear of the Kyuubi attack AND Konoha losing ALL the Sannin. What's left to defend the Village against attackers looking to capitalize on their weakness?_

_Danzo would never get away with his bullshit and you know it._

**My reply**.

That's almost exactly what happened in canon you know. The only difference being that Kushina was there with him -which isn't much of a difference since she was already dying at the time- and that Sarutobi was the one who found Naruto instead of Danzo. The irony here being that I wrote this chapter more than three years ago, well before Kishi did the whole "Kushina was a Jinchuuriki etc" storyline.

Next, is it really so unbelievable that Tsunade wouldn't want to sacrifice her newborn son? Or Jiraiya his godson/the son of two of his closest friends? Or that Sarutobi wouldn't want to sacrifice Naruto -which would cause Danzo to either go into hiding, or come out to try and take control through force- when he could go along with what Danzo wants, get Naruto back, and then work on circumventing the seal, then moving to take Danzo out afterwards? What do you think Sarutobi should have done? Called Danzo's bluff and either have a good chunk of his forces defect en masse -Root- or have said forces rise up and try to take over by force? Something that scared Konoha's leadership so much in canon that they ordered/authorized killing off a significant chunk of their military -the Uchiha clan- to prevent? How do you think Tsunade would have reacted to Sarutobi sacrificing her newborn son? Do you think she'd go off on her wandering gambling way like in canon? Or would she hate Sarutobi, and by extension Konoha even more than Orochimaru did? And what does it matter how strong Tsunade and company are? Danzo is on or at least near their level, and I could see him in a one on one fight with any of them -so long as Jiraiya doesn't use sage mode- and have a _chance_ at winning. But again, that doesn't really matter here, since this isn't a contest of strength, but will/cunning.

Same thing with losing the Kyuubi if he kills Naruto. This isn't a struggle for control of the Kyuubi, but for control of Konoha. Konoha got along just fine without using a Jinchuuriki as a weapon before Naruto, and it would survive without him just as well. Worst case scenario, if they really felt they needed a Jinchuuriki and Naruto was dead, they could just steal one from another Village.

What Danzo was doing was gambling on their emotions, specifically, that Tsunade -and maybe Jiraiya- wouldn't be willing to sacrifice Naruto just to kill him, and that the others wouldn't risk Tsunade pulling an Orochimaru if they did anyway. Particularly since they could just go along with it, get Naruto back, figure out how to circumvent the seal, and _then_ kill Danzo.

As for the idea of Tsunade and Jiraiya leaving Konoha...that would be different from what happened in canon how? According to what timelines we have, Tsunade not only left Konoha before the Kyuubi attack, she was actually the _first_ _one_ to do so. By the time the Kyuubi actually attacked, both Tsunade and Orochimaru were basically rogue. The only difference between the two was that Orochimaru was labeled a traitor -and was actively plotting his revenge- while Tsunade was just "wandering" but refusing to have anything to do with Konoha. And _after _the Kyuubi attack, Jiraiya pretty much left as well. Oh sure, he was supposedly off being a spymaster and such, but how was he going to help protect Konoha if say, Kumo attacked the Village while he was peeping at a bath house on the other side of the continent? So really, in canon Konoha lost all three Sannin in all but name, and on top of that, were attacked and seriously damaged by the Kyuubi shortly after the end of a devastating world war. Did anyone capitalize on their weakness? Other than Kumo with the Hyuuga Incident, not that we know of.

Finally, Danzo not being able to get away with it? Seriously? After all the shit he's been revealed to have pulled in canon? The Uchiha Massacre ringing a bell? How about secretly subverting a number of the Hokage's personal guard/army into his service via Root. Or recruiting all kinds of regular shinobi into his organization? Not to mention all of the black ops missions he's run in the last few decades without permission or authorization and has apparently _never been caught_. The guy even sent one of his personal soldiers to sabotage a mission to gather info on Sasuke, then provided top secret information to Konoha's greatest traitor, all so Sai could try to assassinate Sasuke. Sai admitted or was caught doing all of this. Was Danzo punished? No. Ever wonder why that is?

Please note, this is not meant to be insulting or in anyway a slight towards this reviewer. I just wished to respond to his claims and this was the only means available.

And for anyone who's mad that Danzo is going to play such a key role in this story, please remember one thing. Very few people are actually evil. Is Danzo ruthless? Incredibly so. Does that make him evil? Not necessarily. Does not being evil make him good? Not at all. One of the things I want to do most with this story is not to justify all of Danzo's actions, but to make them _understandable_. If you have any reviews, questions, criticisms, suggestions, etc. I'm more than willing to hear them. Let me know what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Words-9207, Chapters-1, Reviews-16, Hits-462, C2s-2, Favs-16, Alerts-18

* * *

**Authors note**

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter two of Naruto: The Reckoning

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

* * *

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter Two**

Two weeks later, Tsunade was sitting in a cozy chair as she tried to rock a fussy Naruto back to sleep.

A lot had changed in the last couple of weeks. First off was Danzo's successful nomination and selection as the Godaime Hokage. She had been surprised when Sarutobi-sensei told her about the Uchiha's obvious support for Danzo, but that wasn't the only surprise. When the Jounin came together for the vote, not only did every Uchiha Jounin support Danzo, but the majority of the Hyuuga Jounin had as well. Between the overwhelming show of support from two of Konoha's strongest clans and the approval of the Sandaime, Danzo had easily claimed the majority of votes. Oddly enough most of the Jounin of the Hyuuga Main branch had voted _against _Danzo, while the Branch family had _all_ voted for him.

Since then, Danzo had announced the existence of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki to the Jounin and clan heads -though nothing else besides his existence- nominated Fugaku to the position of Jounin Hancho, replacing the recently deceased Kyouta Namashi, and began putting his skills to use in rebuilding Konoha. Thus far, he hadn't done anything that would be detrimental to the village and more importantly -to her- he hadn't come near her or her son.

She tensed as she felt a presence appear in the room with her and quickly sent a kunai in its direction.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy Hime, it's me!" Jiraiya shouted in panic. Which of course, promptly brought Naruto back from a light doze to fully awake and crying.

"Jiraiya, you idiot! You woke up Naruto-chan!" she hissed at her pervert of a teammate as she began rocking her son.

"Hey! You're the one who threw a kunai at me!" Jiraiya said defensively.

"It's your own fault for sneaking in here like that," she replied dismissively as she continued rocking Naruto. "Shh, it's alright Naruto-chan. It's just your idiot of a godfather, there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Hey," Jiraiya whined, "is that any way to treat a loyal teammate who's working so hard for you?"

Glancing up from her son, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, "Have you found a way to remove Danzo's Juinjutsu?"

"No, not yet," Jiraiya answered with a grimace.

"Then you've discovered who besides Danzo can activate it?" Tsunade questioned with a very still face.

"Err, no, I haven't had much luck with that either," Jiraiya replied sheepishly.

"Oh, then you must have found a way to go back in time using Fuuinjutsu, or some kind of ancient Kinjutsu," Tsunade said as if she was finally solving a difficult question.

"Okay, how the hell could I possibly pull off something like that?" Jiraiya asked in exasperation.

She was silent for a moment, before asking in a deadly, quiet voice, "Then tell me, Jiraiya. Just what have you done for me and Naruto-chan?"

Jiraiya flinched slightly at that question. "Alright, alright, I get it. Enough with the interrogation."

She nodded as if she was going to let it go, and then asked nonchalantly, "So how's your writing going?"

Jiraiya's face lit up at that, and he quickly answered, "Oh, I just finished the third one yesterday, and I've sent it off to be published. I think this one will do even better than the las- what the hell!" He spluttered as he dodged yet another kunai. "What was that for?" He demanded, only to wilt under Tsunade's glare.

"So you have time to write your _porn_, but you don't have time to help save Naruto-chan? To correct your mistakes?" Tsunade growled angrily at her teammate. If it wasn't for the fact that she was still holding her son, she'd be doing her best to turn Jiraiya into paste.

"My mistakes?" Jiraiya asked incredulously.

"Yes, your mistakes," Tsunade said in a low tone of voice. "You failed to find a way to stop the Kyuubi that didn't involve Minato dying or my son being used as a Jinchuuriki; you failed to ensure Naruto-chan's safety during and after the sealing; and you failed to get rid of that damn Juinjutsu," she snarled angrily. She knew that she wasn't being entirely fair to Jiraiya, and that she was just using him as a target for her frustrations. But, she couldn't help it.

Two weeks ago, she'd lost her husband; been forced to let her son be used as a vessel for the sealing of the Kyuubi lost her son for an agonizing few hours; then been forced to listen to her son being tortured; before finally getting him back; only to be told that she couldn't "be a mother to him" and that she'd lose him again in just three short years. After that, she had spent her time caring for her son, and trying not to think about what had happened and what would happen. But now the dam was about to burst.

"You have to do more!" She demanded. "You have to work harder. You have to be better because your best is not enough! It's not enough." She sniffed as the tears finally began to flow. "It's just not enough! There's so little time…just three years before they come for him, before they take him away from me…it's not enough!" She cried softly as she held Naruto even closer.

"It's alright, Hime," Jiraiya said comfortingly as he placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her since she didn't even notice him crossing the room. "We'll fix this, one way or the other. Between Sensei and me, we'll either find a way to remove that Juinjutsu or we'll find and kill every one of Danzo's lackeys that knows the activation seal. Even if it takes us twenty years, we'll find a way," Jiraiya promised fervently.

Heartened by his words, Tsunade struggled to get herself under control and save some of her dignity. "Damn hormones," she muttered angrily as she raised a hand to wipe at her eyes, swiping his hand playfully from her shoulder as she did so. A flimsy excuse at best, but Jiraiya seemed to buy it. Or at least, he nodded in what might have been understanding.

Opening her mouth to apologize for lashing out at him, Tsunade was distracted when Naruto woke again and began crying his "I'm hungry" cry. "Hungry again, Naruto-chan?" Tsunade asked bemusedly. "You're such a greedy little baby aren't you?" She cooed as she shifted him in preparation for feeding. She glanced at Jiraiya to send him on his way, only for him to ruin whatever good will he had gained from his promise.

"Heh, I'd be greedy too if you'd let me suck on those delicious breasts of yours," Jiraiya giggled with a slight blush and some drool.

"Out. Now," she ground out angrily as she glared at him. _'Damn pervert!' S_he thought to herself as her teammate beat a hasty retreat from the room.

* * *

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief as he escaped from the room without seeing anything he didn't want to see. Surprising as it may be, while Jiraiya would give just about anything to see Tsunade's breasts and would kill a Kage to touch them or -even better- suck on them, the thought of any woman breast feeding made him nauseous.

It just plain creeped him out. He didn't know why, and he could never explain it. It just did.

Shaking his head to remove the disturbing images, Jiraiya sighed as he made his way out of the house and took to the rooftops. He understood Tsunade's anger, among other emotions, boiling over like they did. In fact, he was surprised it took this long to happen. And he could understand that mentioning his book wasn't the smartest thing he could have done.

However, he _had _been working hard to find the information they wanted; both on Danzo and the seal. In fact, he'd set his entire, expansive spy network to that very task. What Tsunade didn't understand was that spying was more or less a waiting game. That was how he got into writing in the first place.

After all, he couldn't always spend his time around beautiful women; especially when he was hiding out in some remote location. So he wrote. It just so happened that he was better at writing porn than anything else.

That was what he'd been doing these last couple of weeks, waiting and writing. Of course, trying to explain that to Tsunade was pretty much pointless. The woman was horribly impatient when it came to anything outside of surgery.

But that was okay. If Jiraiya had learned anything, it was patience. Danzo was a crafty bastard, but he was still human. Sooner or later he'd make a mistake. And when he did, Jiraiya would be there.

* * *

**Three Years Later**

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun. Please come in," Sarutobi said cordially as he beckoned Jiraiya inside. "It's been too long since you stopped by for a visit. Don't tell me you're too embarrassed to be seen around your old sensei?" He asked with mock sadness as he ushered Jiraiya into a comfortable chair across from his own.

"Embarrassed? Ha! It's because I'm too great and cool for you! I have been since I was in the academy," Jiraiya gloated with pride. "Still, you did help me test out my Toton Jutsu. So I guess I owe you the occasional visit. Besides, it's always nice to talk with such an avid fan of my masterpiece," his student finished with a flourish as he handed over a familiar orange book.

"The new edition?" Sarutobi asked with a smile. "Jiraiya, you shouldn't have." Not that he'd refuse. After all, Jiraiya was quite the talented writer; even if it wouldn't do for him to be seen reading it. He may no longer be the ruling Hokage, but he was still _a _Hokage.

"Here's the tea you asked for, Tou-san." a terrifyingly sweet, feminine voice said from the door.

Turning, Sarutobi was greeted by his eighteen year-old daughter smiling tightly at them. "Ah, Amaya." Sarutobi chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness. Amaya had disapproved of Jiraiya and his habits since she was ten, and she had no problem expressing it either. It certainly didn't help that Jiraiya had started "complimenting" her when she started developing.

At first, Sarutobi had found Jiraiya's flirting with his little girl amusing. That is, until she stopped being "little". Add in Jiraiya's books and reputation, and the situation quickly became volatile. Luckily, Amaya chose to make herself scarce whenever Jiraiya came for a visit. Unfortunately, that didn't stop her from scolding _him _once Jiraiya had left.

"Amaya, it's been far too long," Jiraiya said in a "gentlemanly" voice. "You're even more beautiful than I remember."

"Hmm, thank you for the compliment, Jiraiya-ojiisan. You look even older than I remember," Amaya replied with a vicious grin. "I'm glad to see my father's old teammate paying him a visit. I'll just leave so you two can talk about your porn in private."

Stifling a chuckle at his daughter's "misunderstanding" and veiled threats, Sarutobi thanked her and let her be on her way. She sent him an angry glare before stomping out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Turning back to his student, Sarutobi was greeted by a pathetically depressed looking Jiraiya. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm not old! I'm still a vibrant young man in my prime!" Jiraiya sniffled.

Sweat dropping, Sarutobi couldn't help but point out, "You turn forty next year. That's pretty old by ninja standards." Once Jiraiya was done sulking, the two got down to a very important discussion. The Icha Icha series.

To any outside observers, it appeared to be two men talking about porn. Well written porn, but porn none the less. Two _old_ men talking about porn. Creepy.

If you were one of the two men in question however, then the conversation was quite different.

"I really liked the scene with Suzuki and Takashi. Especially when they started experimenting with ropes," Sarutobi said enthusiastically. "Where did you ever come up with such a thing? Don't tell me that you've actually done some experimenting yourself?" What Jiraiya heard was, _"Have you confirmed it yet?"_

"Hahaha! Yeah, I met this girl just outside of Tsuchi no Kuni that had the sexiest pair of legs," Jiraiya replied with a boisterous laugh. What Sarutobi heard was, _"I'm as sure as I can be without getting inside Danzo's head. If there ever was anyone else that could activate Naruto's seal, they're either dead or they're better at hiding than Orochimaru."_

It wouldn't take long for any Jounin to realize they were talking in code, but that didn't really matter. What did matter was that no one realized _what _they were saying. And considering that Sarutobi and Jiraiya were the only two people who knew this particular code -having devised it for this very purpose years ago- and there was no cipher written anywhere, it was pretty much a guarantee that their conversation would remain a secret.

_"Have you made any progress with the seal?" _Jiraiya asked while continuing his story about his adventures with that Tsuchi no Kuni girl.

_"__It's still too dangerous to try anything without Danzo's notes,"_ he replied, _"Have you been able to find any trace of them?"_

"_No. But then again, I haven't even been able to find his old base of operations either. It's not impossible that they're still out there somewhere," _Jiraiya answered before hesitantly asking, _"What should we tell Tsunade? Danzo's deadline is in a few days before he takes Naruto in for training."_

Sarutobi paused at that, covering up the sudden lull in conversation by sipping his tea. _'What should we tell her?' _He thought to himself. _'She's been acting more and more irrational this past year, understandable though it may be.'_

It had taken Tsunade several months after Naruto's birth to lose her fear that someone might appear in the middle of the night and spirit him away again. Once she had though, she quickly became just like any other protective mother.

…

Well, if any other mother was capable of crushing skulls with her bare hands anyway.

However, after little Naruto-chan turned two, that old fear had returned. Tsunade had slowly become more and more short-tempered and irrational, getting to the point where she insisted on Naruto sleeping in her bed with her.

If they told her that they hadn't had any luck decoding the seal, but that they were fairly certain that Danzo was the only one who could activate it, there was little doubt that she would try to assassinate him. And while he wouldn't lose any sleep over Danzo's death, the man _was _guarded by the ANBU. Tsunade may be one of the Sannin, but even she'd have trouble reaching Danzo undetected. Even if she could reach him, if she failed to kill him with her first strike, the ANBU would quickly rush to his defense. Not to mention what Danzo might do to Naruto as punishment. Just activating the seal might be enough to cow Tsunade, and even if she could fight through it, Danzo wasn't one to go down easily.

If the battle lasted more than a few moments, then the entire ANBU would be alerted within minutes; which was sure to gain the attention of the Jounin and the clans. To anyone on the outside, it would look like Tsunade was trying to assassinate the Hokage. Add in Sarutobi's own words against her during the selection of the Godaime, as well as Orochimaru's previous actions and many would assume that Tsunade was attempting to seize power for herself.

The best outcome of such a scenario would be Tsunade's death. At worst, a civil war; something that Konoha could not afford.

Coming to a decision, Sarutobi said, _"For now, we'll tell Tsunade that we need to find Danzo's notes. Once the seal is removed or at least nullified, we can deal with Danzo easily. That should placate her. In the meantime, focus your efforts on the seal. Everything depends on it."_

Nodding his head to show his understanding, the two continued talking about possible actions and their suspicions on what Danzo was planning.

* * *

Bright blue eyes darted back and forth. When no one came into sight, the eyes set themselves on his target. Today would be the day that he finally conquered his greatest foe to date. Scanning the room one more time, he darted across the room and stared up at his unsuspecting target.

Cautiously glancing around one last time, Naruto lifted his right foot…and began to climb the bookshelf.

Anyone who knew anything about little Naruto Uzumaki knew that he absolutely loved to climb just about anything. Be they chairs, couches, tables, stairs, or small trees, Naruto would climb them. He even dreamed of one day climbing the giant faces that he could see from his house. But for now, he was focusing his attentions on the one target that he had yet to successfully climb to the top of. Namely, the bookshelf.

Reaching higher, Naruto continued to scale the bookshelf passing the half-way point. Naruto's grin grew wider as he came to within a foot of the top of the six foot shelf, the closest he'd ever come. _'C'mon…just a little farther…' _Naruto told himself as his heart hammered in excitement, only to come to a screeching halt a moment later.

"Naruto-chan!" A familiar evil voice called.

'_No!' _Naruto thought desperately as he tried to stretch his arm those last twelve inches. _'Not now! Not when I'm so close!'_

"No! Stop, let me go!" Naruto shouted in despair as he desperately struggled to hold on.

Alas, it was not to be, as the evil demon tore him away from his goal, ruining him once again. Twisting in his captors arms, Naruto fixed his age old enemy with a glare and…pouted. "Kaa-chan," he wailed, "How could you! I was so close!"

"Naruto-chan, how many times do I have to tell you!? You can't climb on the furniture," his Kaa-chan scolded him. "You could get hurt if you fell."

"Awwww, c'mon Kaa-chan," he whined, "I'm careful, and I almost never fall anymore!"

"It only takes one time to seriously hurt yourself." his Kaa-chan said for like the zillionth time.

Naruto just let out a huff and turned to stare at the bookshelf. _'You win this time bookshelf…but next time Kaa-chan won't be there ta save you!' _He growled silently.

* * *

Tsunade let out an exasperated, yet slightly proud sigh. Her son was without a doubt, the most reckless three year-old in the world. She couldn't believe that any other child could possibly be as skilled at giving their mother heart attacks as Naruto was.

Still, she did feel some pride at her son's bravery. When she gave him his vaccinations, he had tried so hard to be brave; shedding only a few tears and "owies" before wiping his eyes and dragging her off to play in the yard.

She truly loved her little boy, which only made her anger at the situation grow. He didn't know it yet, but her precious child's life was about to change any day now.

That bastard Danzo was going to show up demanding to examine her son. And what's worse, Tsunade couldn't help but feel guilty for her part in it. When Naruto had first started developing, she had considered sabotaging his development of mobility and speech, among other things, in order to delay Danzo taking him. But in the end, she couldn't bring herself to do so.

Instead, she found herself encouraging and helping her son just like any other mother. She had used a number of techniques to help Naruto's mental development, and she was immensely proud to say that her little boy was probably the only three year-old who could read an array of books. They were all just children's story books of course, but he could read them without making a single mistake or asking for help. He'd even tried reading a medical book for beginners, only to stop after the first few pages.

When she had asked him why he gave it up, her little boy had cutely replied as if it was the simplest thing, "There's no pictures in here!"

Bringing herself back to the present, she smiled at her son's adorable pout as he glared at the bookshelf she'd plucked him off of.

"Come on, Naruto-chan. It is snack time," she said, shaking Naruto out of his sulking.

"Yay, snack time!" Naruto cheered as he clambered out of her arms before running towards the kitchen excitedly.

Tsunade smiled sadly as she watched him run away from her, feeling her chest tighten painfully at the thought of losing him. Luckily, before she delved too deeply into her depression, Naruto noticed she wasn't following him.

Frowning in childish worry, Naruto ran back up to her and tugged at her hand, trying to pull her much larger form along. "C'mon Kaa-chan, it's snack time," he said as he tugged with all his might.

Giggling, she couldn't help but cheer up as she allowed her son to "drag" her into the kitchen where Shizune was just finishing cutting the oranges for today's snack.

"Naruto-chan, have you washed your hands yet?" Shizune asked as she set the plate on the table.

Tsunade couldn't help but smile as Naruto quickly put his hands behind his back. "Yes, Shizu-neechan," he lied with the kind of shamelessness only a child could pull off.

"You little fibber," Tsunade said, trying to sound serious despite smiling at his antics. "You know better than to tell lies to Shizune and me. Now go wash up or you're going to get a time-out."

Naruto gasped at such a _harsh _punishment and rushed over to the sink and raised his arms expectantly. Shizune picked him up and held him over the sink, allowing him to wash his hands by himself. "All clean!" Naruto proclaimed after a minute, holding his hands up for Shizune's inspection.

Shizune made a show of examining his hands before saying, "But Naruto-chan, you missed a lot!"

Naruto frowned in confusion as he stared at his hands for a moment before pouting and kicking his legs. "Shizu-neechan," he whined loudly, "those are my scribbles!"

The "scribbles" were what she had told him the Juin Jutsu was. She had been careful not to treat them as something bad in order to keep him from thinking there was something wrong with him.

Looking closer, Shizune gasped in exaggerated surprise. "So they are, Naruto-chan! How silly of me."

Turning off the water, Shizune handed Naruto over to her and she put him on her lap and pulled the plate of orange slices closer.

"Wait, Kaa-chan! We hafta wait for the juice!" Naruto reminded her excitedly.

"I didn't forget, Naruto-chan," she said patiently as she accepted a glass from Shizune. Glancing at the contents, Tsunade hugged him a little closer and leaned over his head as she set the glass down. "Mmm, pomegranate juice."

"Awww!" Naruto whined as he stuffed an orange slice into his mouth. "I want apple juice!"

"Now now Naruto-chan, you had apple juice the other day," Tsunade chided gently. "Today you have pomegranate juice." When Naruto looked rebellious, she picked his glass up and took a sip herself. "Mmm, it's delicious."

He looked up at her unsurely for a moment before asking, "Really?"

"Really," she answered with a grin. "Here, you try it," she offered.

Naruto of course promptly decided that if his mother said it was good, then it must be, and greedily drank it down.

She could help but laugh at the sight of his red mustache, drawing his attention to her once more. He stared up at her curiously as he ate another orange slice before shoving another up near her face. "Here Kaa-chan, you need your vidamins too," he offered cheerfully.

"Why thank you, Naruto-chan." She accepted the orange before kissing him on the head. "You're such a good little boy!"

Finishing up his snack, Tsunade brought him over to the sink once again. This time to wash the juice that he had somehow gotten all over his face.

Just as she finished, she heard a knocking at her door. Tensing up, she handed Naruto over to Shizune and went to answer it.

Pausing with her hand just inches from the door knob, Tsunade was gripped by a sudden fear. Naruto had turned three just under a week ago. As each day passed without a visit from Danzo, she slowly began to convince herself that maybe he had changed his mind; or better yet, forgotten about Naruto and her. It was a foolish hope, but she couldn't help but try. Squeezing her eyes shut, for the first time in her life she prayed to see Jiraiya waiting on the other side.

Startled by another round of knocking, she quickly grabbed onto the door knob and yanked it open.

Once the door was opened, she was temporarily blinded, though her ears very easily picked up a very familiar voice. "Good day, Tsunade-hime."

* * *

**Translations**

Jounin Hancho=Jounin Commander

Toton Jutsu=Transparent Escape

Kaa-chan=Mommy

* * *

**AN**: There you have it. A little more light hearted than last chapter. Before anyone says anything, I know that Naruto isn't talking properly in some places. That's intentional, not a mistake on my part. Anyway, this story should go a little faster than my other one, at least in the beginning. As always, any and all reviews/criticism are welcome.

Peace, Vaan.


	3. Chapter 3

Words-15601, Chapters-2, Reviews-25, Hits-1673, C2s-6, Favs-40, Alerts-56

* * *

**Authors note**

Check out my story challenges, The Great Shinobi War and Son of Battles, on my profile.

Special thanks to Inarealpickle and Simonmountney for proofing. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter three of Naruto: The Reckoning

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

* * *

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter Three**

Danzo sighed silently as he listened to the team give their report. It had been a very hectic and tiring three years for him, as despite his experience leading ROOT, the increased work load of leading the village, not to mention dealing with the effects of the Kyuubi attack, left him with very little time to rest. Not that he could afford to show it.

Once the report was done, he dismissed them, deliberately waiting a moment before calling out. "Hizashi-san, a moment of your time if you would." The Hyuuga Jounin halted in his tracks and allowed the others to file out before returning to Danzo's desk.

"Is there something you need, Hokage-sama?" The pale eyed man asked neutrally.

Danzo was privately impressed. Even he couldn't detect the anger that he knew the Hyuuga held. "Take a seat, Hizashi-san. We have much to discuss," Danzo ordered as he continued to read over and sign the various forms on his desk.

The man looked like he wanted to refuse, but he sat none the less. "And just what could a man like yourself possibly have to say to a lowly servant like me, Danzo-sama?" Hizashi let just a trace of bitterness enter his tone.

Danzo felt like smiling as he nonchalantly responded, "Well, I was hoping we could talk about our agreement, but if you feel you have more important things to do then we can wait until later."

That got his attention. "What, you mean to say that you're finally going to uphold your end? Why now after all this time?" The Hyuuga asked suspiciously.

Danzo could understand the man's anger. After all, he had been the first Hokage in the history of Konoha to take a stand and say he'd intervene in clan affairs. Yet, he hadn't done anything to back up his claims. Until now. "I've been a little busy these last few years, what with rebuilding our village and such. Surely you don't think the plight of your clan to be more important than the safety and security of our village?" Danzo answered finally looking up from his paperwork to stare the Jounin in the eye. When the man didn't say anything, he continued, "Now that things have settled down somewhat, I can afford to turn my attention to our agreement."

With those words Danzo turned his attention back to his work, letting Hizashi stew for a minute. One minute stretched into five with only the sound of shifting paper breaking the silence. When it became obvious that Hizashi wasn't going to speak, Danzo decided to continue. "There are certain things that I need you to do before I can abolish the seal, so the sooner you accomplish them the better."

He really had to give the Hyuuga credit for his emotional control. The only sign of the Jounin's anger that he could discern was a slight narrowing of the eyes. "That wasn't a part of our agreement. You promised to remove the seal if I was able to grant you the support of the Hyuuga Branch Jounin. I did so. You have no right to try to change our agreement at this stage."

Mentally smirking, he replied, "You'll find that I have quite a few rights as the Hokage, Hizashi-san." Danzo paused to let the subtle threat sink in before continuing. "Besides, I'm not changing the agreement at all. The things I require of you _need_ to happen in order for me to abolish the seal."

Rather than respond, Hizashi just stared at him, his face as much a mask as the ones the ANBU used.

"First, I want you to get me a copy of a scroll containing any and all information on the Caged Bird seal; how it works, how it's applied, everything," Danzo stated bluntly, drawing a surprised blink from Hizashi.

"What do you need that for?" The man asked neutrally.

Fixing his face into a blank stare, Danzo answered, "So I can create a way to remove it of course. The Caged Bird seal is one the Hyuuga clan's greatest secrets after all, so I'll need to study it in order to destroy it." That couldn't be farther from the truth. He had a copy of the very scrolls he was asking for stolen decades ago, and had long since worked out a way to destroy it. He'd just never seen a need to use it that would be worth the consequences. Not that Hizashi needed to know that.

Indeed, the middle-aged man nodded slowly in understanding. "And the other conditions?" He asked cautiously. Danzo felt like smiling. The Hyuuga were renowned for their self-control, yet he could sense the very seed he had hoped to plant. Hope.

'_Truly, there is no greater emotion than hope,' _Danzo mused to himself. _'Given just the tiniest sliver of hope and a man will fight long after he should be dead to attain their prize.'_ "There is only one other condition, though it can wait until I've studied the Hyuuga scrolls," Danzo explained. "When the time comes, I'll need a Branch Hyuuga to test on, in order to make sure the counter seal works."

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense," Hizashi conceded cautiously. "Do you have any idea how long it will be until you are ready, Danzo-sama?"

He made a show of sighing tiredly -not that he needed to- and shaking his head. "I'm afraid there's no way to predict that."

Hizashi breathed deeply before standing. "If there is nothing else, Danzo-sama," turning the Hyuuga Jounin made his way towards the door, "I'll see to getting you what you need."

He nodded absently as he studied the departing ninja. It seemed he needed one more push. "Your son turned two recently didn't he, Hizashi-san?"

The man halted just in front of the door. "Yes, last month," he answered woodenly with a tinge of sadness and despair lacing his voice.

Danzo stood from his desk and made his way to stand by the slightly taller man. Carefully setting his hand on the Hyuuga's shoulder -as carelessly trying to grab a ninja was just a bad idea- Danzo spoke softly, "I might not be able to make any promises about deciphering the seal…but I promise you this. One way or another, your son will never know the burden of the Caged Bird seal. I swear it." He emphasized his oath with a reassuring squeeze, before releasing the startled Jounin.

For his part, Hizashi stared at him with slightly widened eyes before regaining his composure and giving a respectful bow. "Hokage-sama." With that the man left Danzo alone in his office, smiling ever so slightly.

'_Good, hope and gratitude will make a very loyal addition to my power base.' _What's more is that he hadn't even had to lie, which got around that pesky Hyuuga reading ability. He would put his plan into action before Neji was sealed. All he really needed time for was to set up the perfect excuse to make his decree. Once that was done, he could swiftly have the Branch members freed and his power base would swell.

'_Of course,' _Danzo mused as he retook his seat,_ 'there will be dissenters; both from the Main Branch as well as the other clans of Konoha. But those few die-hard traditionalists will be vastly outnumbered by the many…humanitarians… who have always been appalled by the Hyuuga Juin Jutsu.'_

No, his popularity and support would only grow from this, uniting the bulk of the village behind him.

Some might think of him as a hypocrite once knowledge of his own use of Juin Jutsu got out- and it would eventually- but he was confident that the differences in use and method would dissuade such thoughts. After all, the seals on his ROOT shinobi only prevented them from giving away any secrets, which could only be beneficial. The Hyuuga's on the other hand, used theirs to enslave and in some cases, torture and kill a large part of their own family.

Danzo's seals did nothing of the sort -young Naruto being the exception of course- but it wasn't like Danzo had any intention to actually use it unless the boy lost control. In which case, such precautions could save the entire village. In fact, so long as the boy was loyal, he didn't think he'd even have to worry about Sarutobi and his remaining students doing anything foolish.

Though he doubted they would ever forgive him for his actions three years ago, Danzo was confident that they'd at least accept his rule once he proved that he was looking out for the village's best interest, as opposed to the "war mongering" he had often been accused of by some.

Oh, he wouldn't shy away from war when necessary. And once the next war started -as there would always be another- he would be as ruthless and brutal as necessary to crush their enemies and bring about a lasting peace. Really, he and Sarutobi weren't that different, with the exception of the Sandaime's softening in recent times. The old monkey could be just as ruthless as him when war was upon them.

Danzo could still remember when Sarutobi ordered the invasion of Ame no Kuni during the Second Great Shinobi War. That invasion had left the smaller country in ruins, with most of its people little more than refugees and the infrastructure nearly destroyed completely. And the man had been well aware that it would happen, yet somewhere between the end of that war and beginning of the Third War, Sarutobi had begun to soften.

Frowning, Danzo thought about that. Perhaps it would be best to give Sarutobi some kind of job or task to keep his skills sharp. After all, even the God of Shinobi needed to work to keep from rusting, and retirement probably hasn't done much for him.

Storing the idea away for later consideration, he turned back to his work and read over a familiar proposal. The anniversary of the Kyuubi attack had just passed, and already yet another fool was asking for permission to hold a festival to mark the occasion.

'_Idiots.' _he thought with a scowl as he denied the request yet again. Throwing a village wide party to celebrate the anniversary was an insult to the many shinobi who gave their lives to defend them. The day should be spent in remembrance and in honoring the fallen, not getting drunk and trying to make a profit from it.

While he was on the subject, last week marked the third anniversary of the attack. _'Which means young Naruto is already three. Where does the time go?'_ he mused silently as he considered paying the small Senju family a visit. On the one hand, he did say three years. On the other hand, Tsunade would probably be rather anxious and…short tempered…right about now. The last thing Danzo wanted was to be seen running from a panicked and enraged mother in the middle of the village.

'_So, do I go now and risk facing a…irate…mother…or do I wait a couple more weeks and hope that she calms down a little?' _Danzo pondered for a moment. _'Of course, letting her stew for a few weeks might just make her even more wound up.'_

A moment later, a Chuunin entered bearing a new stack of papers for him to read over and sign. Glancing at the top paper to see a request from Fugaku for yet another increase in funding for "repairs" to the Uchiha district.

"Now it is then," he murmured as he casually set fire to the request before donning the Hokage hat and heading out into the streets. Of course it wasn't quite that simple. What should have been a forty minute trip to reach the semi-isolated Senju house took nearly two hours due to all the well-wishers and so forth that he had to stop for. And it wasn't like he could blend in while wearing the Hokage robes and hat.

Eventually, he did make it to his destination and finally considered just how he'd go about this. He had sent some of his ANBU to secure a training ground for young Naruto's test already, but the tricky part would be getting there without any…incidents.

Staring up at the sky, Danzo muttered, "God damn you, Minato. This would be so much easier if you weren't so fucking "noble". You dumb shit." Steeling himself, Danzo walked up and knocked on the door.

When several moments passed he knocked again, before the door was ripped open. "Good day, Tsunade-hime," he greeted cordially. "How are you this fine day?"

The look on the woman's face was similar to a Genin staring down an A-rank Katon jutsu. All the various emotions were there, fear, anger, sorrow, despair, and others, all flitting across the woman's face. A brief moment later, the look solidified into a mixture of rage and terror.

'_Oh dear-' _Danzo performed a quick Kawarimi to dodge the fist that tried to cave his face in. "Be calm!" He called as he extended a hand, halting both Tsunade and the various ANBU who had started to intervene. Of course, Tsunade instantly darted at him again.

What followed was probably the closet he had come to death since the First Great Shinobi War. Of course, that was probably because he was only dodging and deflecting, rather than fighting back. Sweating slightly as he barely dodged her fist, he cursed when the ground under his feet cratered in from the force of her blow. Dodging a round house kick that probably would have decapitated him, Danzo ran through some seals and threw a weak Daitoppa Jutsu at her, knocking her back several feet without causing actual harm.

"Are you calm now?" He asked as calmly as he could.

Before she could answer -or continue her attack- a new voice made itself known. "Who are you?"

The two adults simultaneously turned to see the small blond haired boy standing in the doorway to the house, peeking around Tsunade's student curiously.

Thankfully, the boy seemed to snap her out of her rage and she hurriedly moved to scoop the boy into her arms.

Shifting his robes back into position, Danzo calmly made his way over to the trio. "You must be Naruto-kun. I'm the Godaime Hokage. How are you?"

Said boy stared at him with wide eyes before spluttering, "You're one of the faces!"

"Faces?" Danzo asked semi-curious, semi-incredulous.

In response, the boy spun as well as he could in his mother's arms to point off at the distant Hokage Monument. "Which one are you?" Naruto continued excitedly.

Sweat dropping slightly, Danzo reminded himself that the boy was only three before answering, "The fifth one."

The little boy gasped again before chattering about anything and everything.

"So, Tsunade-hime, why don't we get under way?" He asked cordially as he began walking away. After a short few seconds, the trio joined him.

They walked on in silence for a time before Danzo decided to do something he absolutely hated. Small talk.

"So, Naruto-kun," he began casually, "you seemed quite excited about the Hokage Monument earlier."

The blond child looked up at him in confusion for a moment before his face lit up in excitement. "Oh, you mean the faces! I'm gonna climb them someday, only don't tell Kaa-chan cause she doesn't like to have fun!" He chattered as if Tsunade wasn't holding him in her arms.

Danzo listened with half an ear, nodding and such when appropriate. The only thing that really caught his attention was "And then when I grow up, I'm gonna be a doctor ninja like Kaa-chan!"

'_Medic-nin? I suppose it makes sense considering his mother. He might even have a talent for it…'_ he mused before nodding in understanding. "I see. That's quite a noble goal, Naruto-kun. We'll have to see if I can't help you out in that respect."

"Really!" came two surprised voices, though the younger one's was full of excitement while the elder's was suspicious.

"I don't see why not," he replied with a smile. "So long as you promise to work hard and do your best, Naruto-kun."

"I promise!" The tiny blond yelled excitedly, almost as if he thought Danzo would retract his offer if he didn't accept fast enough.

For his part, Danzo just nodded in acceptance, taking note of Tsunade staring at him suspiciously. Silently cursing his predecessor once again, he led the rest of the way in silence.

After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at the small, semi-remote training ground that Danzo had chosen for young Naruto's test. Well, test might be too strong a word really. All they were going to do was check his flexibility and such, along with a minor check on the boy's mental level.

"Alright, Naruto-kun," he said kindly as he turned to face the boy, "I need you to go with Taka here and do a few things for me."

Instead of answering, the excitable child asked curiously, "Who's Tak-aah!" He ended with a shout when the ANBU appeared in front of them, seemingly from thin air.

Danzo nodded in acknowledgement to the ANBU he had selected for this task, before observing Naruto reacting in a typical startled child fashion. The young Jinchuuriki buried his face in his mother's chest, before cautiously peeking a slightly watery eye at the strange newcomer.

'_That reaction is going have to go…' _Danzo mused as he tried to coax the young boy out of his shell. "This is Taka, Naruto-kun. I need you to go with him so he can run some tests on you. Can you do that for me?"

The boy looked hesitant. "I don't know," he said slowly, looking to his mother for guidance. "Kaa-chan says I'm not supposed to go with strangers."

* * *

Tsunade stared down at her son as he looked to her for reassurance. Her first instinct was to say no, and dash away with her son, far away, like maybe Mizu, or Kaze.

Unfortunately, that wasn't really an option at this point. Instead, she carefully set him down on his feet and knelt in front of him. "It's alright, Naruto-chan. Go with the nice ANBU. Kaa-chan and Shizune will be right here, okay?" She said with a smile that she certainly didn't feel.

"Ok!" Naruto chirped, reassured by her approval. He wasted no time in running up to the ANBU and bombarding him with questions. "Are you a ninja? How come you're wearing that funny mask? Can I hold your sword? I won't break it, I promise! Please!"

Said ANBU ignored his questions and led her son towards the center of the training ground, leaving her to try to keep an eye on her son and on Danzo at the same time. Quite the feat, but then again, nothing motivates a mother quite so much as when her baby is on the line.

As the ANBU had Naruto go through various motions, Tsunade glared at Danzo angrily. The man even had the gall to raise an eyebrow as if to ask, "What?"

"So what was that about?" She hissed angrily. "Haven't you done enough to my son? Isn't it enough that you stole his life from him, now you want to pretend before ripping away his dreams?" Oh, if looks could kill, she'd turn that one eyed-bastard into a twitching corpse!

For his part, the half-blind piece of shit didn't even turn away from observing her son in his coldly methodical way when he answered. "Not at all, Tsunade-hime. In fact, I meant exactly what I said. You more than anyone know that few have either the talent or the desire to learn Ijutsu. Even fewer have both, and as your son, Naruto-kun might be one of those rare few. Perhaps he might even surpass yourself in skill, both on the battlefield and in the medical one. Or maybe he'll only be able to learn a few. Either way, some training with Ijutsu can only benefit the boy."

By now, Taka had helped Naruto strip down to his underwear and was having him perform a series of stretches while observing his muscles -what little he had- and joints, looking for any problems.

"Of course," Danzo continued, "it goes without saying that we'll be placing the emphasis on his combat abilities. But being able to heal himself will give him quite the advantage, and you and I both know that we don't have enough shinobi proficient at Ijutsu. So if he wants to learn, who are we to refuse?" The entire time the bastard watched her son, even as he responded to her anger. "And may I remind you, _I_ didn't do this to your son. That fool of a husband of yours did. I didn't decide to make Naruto-kun a Jinchuuriki, Minato did. And if I had been asked, I wouldn't have let him do it. Which is apparently more than can be said for you, Tsunade-hime."

It was only through sheer force of will that she didn't flinch at that last part. Tsunade might have objected, but in the end she _did_ consent to Minato's plan. Something that had quickly become her greatest regret.

Her only comfort was her belief that _Minato_ at least didn't intend to turn their child into a weapon. She _had_ to believe it.

* * *

'_This is weird,' _Naruto thought to himself as he hopped around on one leg, trying to balance himself. This Taka guy said they were going to see if he was ready to be a shinobi, yet all he had done was make Naruto do these stupid stretches and stuff. _'When are we gonna do the cool stuff!' _He huffed to himself as the masked man had him bend over and touch his toes. _'This is boring!'_

"Alright, that's enough. Get dressed." Taka's raspy voice broke through his thoughts.

Suddenly nervous that he might not have done good enough, Naruto hurried into his black shorts and white t-shirt. Once he was dressed, the ANBU motioned for him to follow and started walking back to his Kaa-chan and the fifth face. "So…did I pass?" He asked nervously.

"Pass?" Taka asked in confusion. At least, Naruto thought it was confusion. The mask kinda made it hard for him to tell.

"Yeah, did I pass the test or not?" He asked again, this time in impatience.

The ANBU just stared at him -or at least he thought so- for a moment before nodding slowly. "Yes. Yes you passed the test."

Feeling much better, Naruto grinned happily and quickly ran towards Tsunade excitedly. "Kaa-chan, Kaa-chan! I passed! Did ya see, did ya!" He yelled as he barreled into her stomach hard enough to get a small grunt from her. To his great disappointment, instead of acknowledging his _great_ achievement, she just wrapped her arms around him and kept talking boring adult stuff with the masked man and the old guy.

Pouting, Naruto wrapped one arm as far around her waist as he could and tugged at the front of her shirt with the other. "Kaa-chan," he whined impatiently, "did ya see?"

This time, she picked him up and passed him off to Shizu-neechan, seemingly ignoring him again.

Suddenly worried that he might have done something wrong, he drew into himself a little even as he wrapped his arms around Shizu-neechan's neck and buried his face in her chest. _'Is Kaa-chan mad at me? Why? The masked guy said I passed so I did good right?'_ Naruto questioned himself as his eyes began to water up. Tilting his face up to hers, Naruto asked, "Shizu-neechan, did I do something bad?"

His sister started for a moment before looking down at him and asking, "What makes you think that?"

"Kaa-chan's mad at me," he sniffed quietly.

Her face softened at that as she quietly cooed. "Of course she's not mad at you. You did very well during your test. It's just that she's worried, that's all," she reassured him with a smile. "Your Kaa-chan and I are very proud of you Naru-chan."

"Really?" He whimpered softly.

"Really," was her response.

Somewhat relieved, Naruto still felt the need to double check. "Really, really?"

"Really, really, Naru-chan," Shizune said with a laugh.

Oh. Well, in that case there's no worry. And just like that he was all smiles again. "Did ya see me pass? Huh, did ya?"

He only had a moments warning before he was suddenly plucked away from his neechan's arms and into another familiar pair. "Yes, we did. I'm very proud of you, Naruto-chan," his Kaa-chan said as she hugged him tightly. "In fact, I think we should go get some ice cream to celebrate. What do you think, Naruto-chan?"

Needless to say, Naruto heartily approved. "Yay! I want chocolate! No, vanilla! Wait, no! I want mint flavored!"

Shizune giggled and asked, "What about strawberry flavor, Naru-chan?"

"Blech!" Naruto said in disgust. "Strawberries are yucky!"

* * *

Tsunade smiled fondly as Shizune teased her son the entire way to the nearest ice cream stand. Naruto of course, managed to make a complete mess of himself with his chocolate ice cream. Not that she could find it in her heart to scold him too much. Not when this could be the last bit of a normal childhood for him.

She shook her head at that thought, trying to keep herself cheerful lest Naruto somehow pick up on her sadness. He could be amazingly perceptive at times, in his own childish way.

Smiling at him as he fussed while she wiped at his face with a napkin, Tsunade promised herself that she would cherish these last few days and do her best to make them joyous for her son. It would all change all too soon.

* * *

It was several days after his "test" with the old man and the masked guy that Naruto found himself in front of small building inside the village marketplace. Well, to be accurate, his Kaa-chan was standing in front of the building while holding him in her arms. To their right stood Shizu-neechan, holding onto the family pet, Tonton.

Looking over the outside of the building, Naruto could safely say that he liked their house better. He still didn't understand why they had to come live here. He was sure that he could learn to be a shinobi while staying at their house just as well as here. Plus, their house was much bigger. Yet no matter what argument Naruto had, his Kaa-chan kept saying that they had to. So, here they were.

Once inside, they descended a set of stairs, and then proceeded through a series of hallways until Naruto had to admit that maybe this new place was bigger than he thought. Not that it meant it was better than their house.

Finally, after walking forever -read fifteen minutes-, they arrived in a huge room with balconies and mirrors high up on the walls. Standing in the middle of the room were two men.

One was a really old guy with bandages wrapped around his head, wearing funny clothes, and the other was a young man who looked like he was around Shizu-neechan's age, maybe a little older. He wore a cloth around his head with a metal plate on the front and a dark long sleeve shirt and pants. He also had a pair of sunglasses on, despite being inside.

The old guy was the first to speak. "Ah, good, you've arrived. I trust you are well, Tsunade-hime, Naruto-kun."

Had he been paying attention, he might have noticed when Tsunade scowled at the robed man and almost unconsciously tightened her grip on him. But since he wasn't, he went ahead and asked, "Who are you?"

His family stifled their chuckles while the sunglasses man looked somewhat askance. The old guy for his part didn't seem to be affected. "We met the other day, don't you remember, Naruto-kun?"

Puzzled, Naruto stared the man up and down several times before unashamedly declaring, "Nope."

This time Tsunade didn't even bother trying to hide her laughter, much to Naruto's confusion. _'Did something funny happen?' _He wondered as he looked back and forth between his Kaa-chan and the old guy.

"My name is Danzo Shimura," the robed man began. "I'm the Godaime Hokage."

Naruto blinked in confusion for a moment before realization set in. "I'm gonna climb your face one day," he pointed out sagely.

"I'm sure you will," Danzo said politely. "Now, let me introduce you to your new sensei. His name is Ebisu, and he will be training you for the foreseeable future."

The now identified Ebisu nodded to him and gave a respectful bow to his Kaa-chan.

"Oh," Naruto said unsurely as he looked to Tsunade for guidance.

"Is he qualified?" She asked while scanning Ebisu from head to toe.

"Ebisu is one of the greatest instructors the Ninja Academy has ever seen. I have no doubt that Naruto-kun will master the basics under his tutelage," Danzo answered calmly.

Ebisu himself stepped forward and gave another respectful bow. "Tsunade-hime, it will be my honor to instruct young Naruto-kun. I assure you, I will do my utmost to help him become a proud and worthy shinobi of Konoha."

Sensing that the conversation was quickly approaching boring, Naruto tuned out most of it and occupied himself with playing with his Kaa-chan's necklace.

He didn't understand why, but staring at that necklace was one of his fondest activities. It always gave him a soothing feeling that he normally acquainted with being held in his Kaa-chan's arms. Years later he would look back on that and realize that he should have asked someone about that. It would have saved him a lot of grief.

He was snapped out of his fun when he was set on the ground in front of Ebisu.

"Why don't we let them get started," Danzo began as he turned to the others. "What do you say to a tour, Tsunade-hime? I'll show you your quarters and the infirmary."

"Kaa-chan?" He asked in confusion as she and Shizu-neechan started to walk away with Danzo.

She stopped and knelt in front of him to run her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, Naruto-chan. Shizune and I are just going to see our rooms and put things away while you have your lessons. We'll be back in a little bit." She seemed to pause for a moment before continuing, "Do your best and listen to Ebisu-sensei, ok?"

And with that, he was left alone with the sunglasses man, his…sensei.

For a moment they just stared at each other before Ebisu broke the silence. "Take a seat, Naruto-kun," he said while motioning to a traditional table. Once the two of them were seated, he spoke again, "Let us start with some rules. You will address the Hokage as Hokage-sama, or Danzo-sama. You will address me as sensei, or Ebisu-sensei. When I tell you to do something, I expect you to do it without a fuss. When I tell you not to do something, you will not do it. That being said, if you have any questions at any time, you should ask them. The only stupid question is an unasked one. Understand?"

"Kay," he replied, only to be met with a glare.

"What was that?" Ebisu asked in a dangerous tone.

Blushing slightly, he tried again, "Hai, sensei."

"That's better," Ebisu nodded in approval. "Now, I understand that you already know how to read, correct?"

"Hai, sensei," he replied with a proud smile. Most kids his age couldn't read at all!

"Very good, Naruto-kun. In that case, we can begin your lessons immediately," Ebisu said as he pulled out a sealing scroll and unsealed a number of books. "We'll start with writing, mathematics, science, and geography. Once I feel you've progressed far enough, we'll begin working on manipulating chakra, and from there to chakra control. Of course, you'll also go through a series of stretches and light work outs to build up your physical conditioning at the same time. For now, you will be awake and in this room for your physical exercises by six o'clock, five days a week. After breakfast we'll work on your studies until lunch, and then continue until supper. You will have free time to do what you wish after supper, though you will be in bed no later than eleven o'clock. You will have weekends to yourself," he paused there to adjust his sunglasses. "Any questions?"

For his part, Naruto couldn't help but gape a little. Sure, the workout stuff sounded fun, and writing was probably important, but the rest of the stuff sounded really boring, not to mention pointless. What does a ninja need to know about math? "Sensei, do we have to do all that stuff? Can't we just skip the science and stuff?" He asked with a whine.

Ebisu remained calm and answered, "I assure you, as boring as they might seem now, each of these subjects are important. However, if you learn them well enough and quickly enough, we can move on to other subjects. Sound fair?"

Pouting slightly, he agreed nonetheless. "Alright. I promise I'll have this boring stuff learned in no time!"

"Then why don't we get started," Ebisu said as he reached for the first book in the pile.

* * *

"This is the infirmary." Danzo said cordially as she looked over the room. Tsunade could tell that Danzo had spared no expense when it came to this infirmary. All of the latest medical equipment could be seen around the room, which was kept in immaculate condition.

"The head of the ANBU medical core is Sanada-sensei. You'll be working with him whe-"

"What?" She interrupted with a scowl. "What are you talking about? I never agreed to any such thing!"

She was beginning to hate this man more and more as he calmly explained, "Well, it's not like Naruto-kun needs you to be around twenty-four hours a day. And if Sanada-sensei needs your aid, it only makes sense that you give it. Besides, you can teach some of the medic-nin in your spare time. God knows watching a three year old learn about math is sure to be boring."

That drew a blink from her. "Math? What are you talking about?"

This time Danzo actually raised an eyebrow. "I'm talking about Naruto-kun's lessons. I suppose I should have told you the plan for his training, but I thought it best to wait until Ebisu-san had some time with him. Obviously they'll start with the essential skills taught in the Academy."

Staring at him, Tsunade asked incredulously, "Your teaching him _math and science_? _Geography_? What was the point of getting him an "elite tutor" and moving us to ANBU headquarters just to teach him the Academy curriculum?"

This time, Danzo was the one to look incredulous. "What would you have me do, give him a scroll for the Rasengan on his first day? Or teach him how to summon? He has to learn to walk before he can tree hop. Besides, I'm sure that between Naruto's learning ability and Ebisu's penchant for teaching, he'll have the Academy curriculum mastered to a sufficient degree soon enough." By now they had left the Infirmary and arrived outside a pair of rooms. "Besides, we can afford to take our time for now. It's been three years since the Kyuubi attack, and almost five since the end of the Third Great Shinobi War. While we must remain vigilant, there is no reason to make hasty decisions."

Tsunade wanted to curse herself for it, but Danzo's reasoning made a cold, methodical sense. She supposed she should be thankful that he was going slow with her son's training. Yet none of that stopped her from entertaining the fantasy of crushing Danzo's head between her fists like a rotten piece of fruit.

"Anyway," he continued, "these will be yours and your student's rooms. As you can see, they are only a short distance from the infirmary, and the dining facility is just dow-"

"Wait a minute!" Tsunade interrupted angrily. "What about Naruto-chan's room! Why are we separated?"

Seemingly unperturbed by her anger, the old geezer answered, "Young Naruto-kun's room is back by his training area. The room locations are for your convenience-"

"Don't give me that bullshit!" She spat angrily. "You're just trying to-"

"Tsunade-hime," this time it was Danzo doing the interrupting, "it's not like you have to actually stay in this room all day. You can even sleep in young Naruto-kun's room if you really feel so strongly about it. I gave you these rooms so you could be found quickly if your skills were needed," he explained with a tinge of exasperation in his voice.

Biting back on her anger, Tsunade nodded grudgingly and allowed Danzo to continue his tour.

* * *

Naruto yawned sleepily as his Kaa-chan carried him back to what he had been told was his room. She had come back from wherever it was that she and Shizu-neechan went at lunch, and had stayed with him and Ebisu-sensei for the rest of the day.

His first lesson with Ebisu-sensei hadn't gone as well as he hoped, and even though they hadn't done any physical training, he was exhausted. Who would have thought that studying math and science could make you so tired? Although, the part where it was past ten o'clock and his normal bedtime was nine o'clock at the latest might have had something to do with it.

Staring at his Kaa-chan's necklace, Naruto couldn't keep his eyes open for long and he eventually succumbed to sleep, unnoticing of her tucking him into his new bed -which was quite large- and crawling in with him.

He was also too tired to fully wake when she gently pried his arms off her several hours later and hurriedly left with a worried Shizune who was whispering something about an emergency and needing her to come quickly.

So when he finally woke enough to notice that he wasn't in his room -temporarily forgetting where he was in the manner of a young child- he did what was natural. "Kaa-chan, Shizu-neechan!" He called, hoping one or the other would come. When neither did, he slowly slipped out of his bed and made his way to the room's sole door. Reaching for the oddly low doorknob, Naruto opened it, intent on finding his Kaa-chan or neechan. So, he was quite surprised when he bumped into someone just outside his door.

Backing up, he gazed upward at a masked person with long blond hair. "Kaa-" he began before the masked person made a rectangle shape with their hands.

And then Naruto knew no more.

* * *

**Translations**

Kaa-chan=Mommy

Juin Jutsu=Curse Seal

Taka=Hawk

Neechan=Sister

Sensei=Teacher/master/doctor

Hime=Princess

Did I miss any?

* * *

**AN**: There you have it. I was trying to make Danzo more realistic and less "BWAHAHAHA! I'm going to rule the world"ish. Let's face it, military and political leaders have to make some hard choices, and sometimes they have to choose the lesser of two evils. Before anyone says anything, I know that Naruto isn't talking properly in some places and that he's pretty fickle and forgetful. That's intentional, not a mistake on my part. Anyway, the next chapter should involve a two year time skip. As always, any and all reviews/criticism are welcome.

Peace, Vaan.


	4. Chapter 4

Words-21121, Chapters-3, Reviews-42, Hits-4061, C2s-9, Favs-59, Alerts-80

* * *

**Authors note**

Sorry for the long wait. I had originally planned to do the next chapter of Specialist, yet about 6000 words in, it all just vanished. All that was left behind was a few lines of gibberish, which I'm told means that it's encrypted. And I can't get it back. This pissed me off so much; I couldn't even try to rewrite it. So I worked on this instead. I sent it out for proofing on May 31. One beta still hasn't replied yet, and the other managed to get it to me last week, which was a miracle considering where he is right now. Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of training right now, and since I'm only getting 4-5 hours of sleep a night, I haven't been able to work on it until now.

Now, there are two important things to note about this chapter. One, it's a little dry in some parts, and I use the Japanese names for countries, simply because I think they sound better. Two, whenever I use dates, I'm going to be putting A.F. (After the Founding) next to it. This is my estimate of how much time has passed since Konoha was founded, which marks the end of the Hidden Clans Era and the beginning of the Hidden Villages Era. I estimate this to be about eighty years when Canon starts.

Check out my story challenges, The Great Shinobi War and Son of Battles, on my profile.

Special thanks to Simonmountney for proofing. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter four of Naruto: The Reckoning

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

* * *

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter Four**

Chugging back cup after cup of sake, Tsunade was absolutely miserable. No, miserable didn't come even close to describing her right now. She had never felt anything near as painful as this. Not when her grandfather and granduncle died, or Dan, or Nawaki, or Minato, not during any of the wars she'd lived through, not when Orochimaru defected, nothing had ever caused her as much pain as this.

What was the source of this pain? Well, it could be summed up in one single, life-shattering event.

* * *

**Flashback Five months ago**

Tsunade strode quickly down the hallway in search of her son, Shizune struggling to keep up without breaking into a jog. They had been kept busy the last few days saving the life of an unfortunate ANBU who had had the bulk of his lower back -spine included- torn out by a giant ice cream scoop.

…

…

Well, not really, but it certainly looked like it.

They had managed to save him, though he would never walk again, let alone be a ninja. Still, he was alive, and that was enough for her. Besides, maybe they'd find a way to let him walk again in the future. After all, she'd heard that Suna had a fairly decent success rate using wooden limbs and high chakra control to realistically mimic real ones.

So maybe the poor man would be able to walk again. Who knew?

Still, she couldn't bring herself to care about the man too much right now. Not when she had more pressing concerns right now. Namely, her son.

As expected, Naruto had taken to his training quite well, despite his lack of interest in some of the subjects, and his instructor reported that he was easily Genin level. But there was something that disturbed her, no matter how hard she tried to pass it off as just her imagination.

Tsunade couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong with her child. He seemed to be experiencing these odd bouts of forgetfulness or disorientation from time to time. It was made even worse in that it seemed to be happening more and more often in the last few months.

Or maybe she was just finally opening her eyes to the fact that Naruto's condition wasn't just childish forgetfulness. Who knows how long it had been going on, with her refusing to consider the possibility that something was wrong?

'_No…no nothing is wrong with him.' _Tsunade scolded herself. _'I'm just getting worked up over nothing. I've been working too hard and worrying too much. I need a vacation.' _She felt a smile grow on her face as her thoughts continued. _'Besides, I can take Naruto-chan with me. He could probably use a vacation as well, and I'm sure I can convince the One-Eyed Bastard to make it happen.'_

Smiling happily, Tsunade almost started skipping when she caught sight of her son and Ebisu sitting at a table enjoying a quick lunch.

Making a shushing motion to Ebisu, Tsunade snuck up behind Naruto, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and covered his eyes. "Guess who!" she said playfully as she rained a number of loud, exaggerated, and in no way embarrassing -regardless of what Naruto might later claim- kisses on her baby's head and face.

Perhaps it was to be expected that he would be a little jumpy given his recent training, but the way Naruto thrashed to get free brought a frown to her face. "What don't tell me you're embarrassed by me, Naruto-chan?" Tsunade mock scolded. "You should proud to have such a cool m-"

She felt her breath catch as Naruto turned in her arms and sent her a glare. Not that the glare really affected her, if anything, it just made him look even cuter. No, it was the look of utter confusion in Naruto's eyes as he stared up at her.

She couldn't explain why her chest suddenly felt constricted as Naruto gazed searchingly into her face. "Naruto-chan." she began worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry but," Naruto began unsurely. "Who are you?"

Tsunade glanced over at Ebisu for a moment, taking note of the way his eyebrow rose in surprise as he looked on, before she laughed nervously. "What are you talking about, Naruto-chan? Don't tell me you've forgotten me after just a few days?" she asked, trying to keep the nervous tremble out of her voice.

She could feel her fear mounting as Naruto turned to his instructor questioningly before looking to her again. "Do I know you?"

"Naruto-kun, stop fooling around." Ebisu barked. "You know full well who Tsunade-sama is."

"Tsunade-sama? As in, Tsunade Senju? Of the Sannin?" Naruto asked in confused awe. "But…I've never met you before…right?"

That was the last straw for Tsunade, as she quickly ran through the hand seals for the diagnostic jutsu running her hand over Naruto's body, barely noticing as Ebisu quickly made his way to crouch in front of them. "Look at me, Naruto-kun." Ebisu ordered as he took Naruto's head in his hands. "Do you know what day it is?"

"Um…Thursday. Why do you ask?" Naruto answered as he instinctively pulled his head back a bit.

"Do you know where you are? How old you are?" Ebisu continued as pulled a flashlight from his pouch and shined it in Naruto's eyes.

"In the ANBU training compound and I'm four and a half. Will you stop that!" he said as he tried to bat away Tsunade's hands. "What are you doing? What's going on?"

Tsunade didn't pay any attention to the two, as she continued her scan, growing more and more worried by the lack of any apparent medical explanation. "Ebisu!" she barked as she scooped Naruto into her arms and began walking away. "Tell Danzo what's happened, I want the best doctors the village has to offer ten minutes ago!" she ordered as she sprinted off towards the infirmary at full speed, determined to help her son.

* * *

**Flashback ends**

Tsunade did nothing to stop the tears that ran down her face as she discarded her cup and drank straight from the bottle. They still didn't know what happened to Naruto, even now. They could find nothing wrong medically, and every Yamanaka she'd dragged in to check on him turned up nothing.

Her current theory was that Naruto was suffering from some new form of mental degeneration or something similar, something that hadn't been documented before, or possibly a result of the Kyuubi's sealing.

All of his memories prior to moving to the ANBU compound- what little he'd have of the first three years of his life- were simply gone. Normal enough for anyone to forget years down the road, but not for a not even five year-old.

The year and half between moving in here and the day they discovered his condition was filled with holes, ranging from Tsunade and Shizune, to his studies, to his ninja skills, to the layout of the compound. His body remembered some things, even if his mind didn't, and he'd been able to pick up most of it again fairly quickly, but that couldn't be said for his memories of his family.

And they couldn't just re-teach him about how Tsunade always made sure to tuck him in at night, or how she hummed a happy tune whenever she cooked for him, or how he loved apple juice because she told him it was her favorite as a child. How could he relearn that he wanted to be like his mother and become a "doctor ninja" or that he used to love playing with her necklace while she held him in her arms?

The fact that she couldn't even tell him that she was his mother was the final blow, and she'd begun drinking again shortly after, in between sleepless nights spent combing through every medical book she could find on the mind and whatever she could borrow, threaten, and in some cases, downright steal from the Yamanaka clan.

* * *

**Flashback**

"What the Hell do you mean, we shouldn't tell him!" Tsunade roared angrily. "Why the Hell not!" She spat as she slowly advanced on the One-Eyed Bastard who had the audacity to make such a suggestion.

"Think about it Tsunade-hime." Danzo said in his usual, despicable calm. "You said it yourself; the most likely possibility is that he has some sort of degenerative mental disorder, right? So the last thing we want to do is confuse him."

"We don't know that for sure. It could just be a side effect of the sealing." Tsunade said defensively. "There's nothing to suggest that this will be permanent, or that it'll happen again in the future."

"That remains to be seen, though I certainly hope you're right, Tsunade-hime. I'd rather not be forced to declare Naruto-kun a deficient Jinchuuriki." Danzo murmured as he stared at the medical report.

She stiffened in rage before speaking in a deadly quiet voice. "There is nothing "deficient" about my son."

"I think you're missing the point. If anything like this happens again, we might not have any other choice than to create a new Jinchuuriki." Danzo retorted. "And I'm sure you know what happens to those who have their Bijuu removed from them."

Tsunade literally froze at that. There had never been a Jinchuuriki who survived losing their Bijuu before, and she wasn't willing to gamble on Naruto being able to survive that.

'_But…why is Danzo saying he doesn't want to label Naruto-chan…deficient?' _she thought with a scowl. "Why haven't you?" she asked suspiciously. "You're not known for your generosity. So why are you so willing to give Naruto-chan a second chance?"

Danzo remained silent, staring down at the report in his hands as if he didn't hear her. As she went to ask again, he finally spoke.

"Minato was a fool." Danzo said bluntly, causing Tsunade to blink at the sudden change of subject. "But he was a loyal fool. He sacrificed his life and that of his child's, to save this village." he sighed as he turned to Tsunade. "Not the fate I would have chosen for the boy, but there it is. Naruto-kun is as much a hero as Minato. So I'm willing to give the boy a chance. It may not be much, but it's better than most Jinchuuriki get."

Tsunade was stunned to hear such a…humane…response from the old ninja. For as long as she had known him, Danzo had always struck her as an ambitious, ruthless, hardened and embittered old war veteran. But looking at him now, Tsunade couldn't help but wonder if she might have misjudged him.

Sure, he was all those things, but so were many who went through a war, and he had gone through all three of the Great Shinobi Wars. That was sure to have a negative effect on a man. But perhaps, somewhere deep down, there was a good man, struggling with his demons while trying to do the right thing?

Luckily, before she could continue down that path, Danzo opened his mouth again.

"Of course, there is another reason why it's best not to tell Naruto-kun about his heritage."

'_Or maybe he really _was_ just an asshole.'_

"There is no good reason to keep Naruto-chan from his heritage, you old relic." Tsunade stated resolutely as she folded her arms and sent the man a glare. "You're already keeping it from the rest of the village, but I won't let you keep it from him."

She didn't back down in the slightest when Danzo leveled a mild glare at her. "We've been over this, Tsunade-hime. I told, on the day Naruto-kun was born, he can't-"

"Be a Namikaze or a Senju, I remember." Tsunade interrupted irately. "How does that apply to this?"

"Consider this, Tsunade-hime." Danzo answered. "How are we going to keep his heritage a secret if he walks around calling you "Kaa-chan"? Ebisu might not have caught on, but he was told that you had been given the task of raising Naruto-kun, even before you and he met."

Tsunade was unimpressed. "So what? So people will know who raised him, what difference does that make?"

"The difference." Danzo began. "Is that Naruto-kun shares physical trait characteristics with you. So when people see a blond child calling a blond woman "Kaa-chan", their first thought is not going to be, "oh look, that woman must have raised him, but they aren't really related, despite how much they look like it". They'll assume that you're his mother."

"I _am_ his mother." Tsunade pointed out crossly. She considered it a victory when the old bastard sighed exasperatedly.

"But we don't want people to know that. You're a well-recognized person. People aren't going to mistake you for some ordinary mother and son." Danzo reminded her." And even if we tell the entire world that you two aren't related, do you think our enemies will care? All they'll care about is that Tsunade _Senju_ is raising a child, a _Jinchuuriki _child. They'll stop at nothing to kill him."

Tsunade felt her gut twist in fear at that. "I'll protect him." she declared stubbornly.

"And how will you protect him when he goes on missions? Or when the next war erupts?" Danzo questioned with a shake of his head. "No, he'll be far safer this way."

She opened her mouth to object when he spoke again. "At the very least, we should keep it from him until he's old enough to defend himself. Then we can tell him."

Tsunade felt her eye twitch. What was it with him and taking things from her just to offer to return them? At the same time, he did have a point. She and Minato had always known the danger Naruto would be in because of them. The difference between them and Danzo was their response to this threat.

Their plan had been rather simple. Minato would put a Hiraishin seal on some of Naruto's clothing, and spend his days fulfilling his Hokage duties, while Tsunade would be a "stay at home mom" to look after and protect Naruto. This suited her quite well, since she didn't care much for the rest of the village. The only time she'd have to leave would be in the most extreme medical emergencies.

Of course, there would be times when their roles would switch, mainly when Minato had a day off, and she would relax…somehow. At the time, she couldn't even think of anything that she'd rather be doing then spending time with her baby. But Minato had insisted, and she eventually agreed.

In addition to that, Naruto would receive training from not only herself and Minato, but also Jiraiya, Sarutobi, even Kakashi and Shizune. In theory, by the time he started taking missions outside the village; Naruto would already be a powerhouse, escorted by one of the strongest Jounin-sensei the village had to offer.

Jiraiya had thought that had meant him, but Tsunade had other plans. Jiraiya was powerful, of that she had no doubt, but he was also a pervert, and while Minato may have turned out alright, she hadn't been willing to gamble on that happening a second time.

She'd actually been planning to convince Sarutobi to do it. After all, what assassin in their right mind would go after a target under the protection of the Shinobi no Kami?

Danzo's plan on the other hand, was on the other end of the spectrum. Only this time, Naruto wouldn't get a Jounin-sensei at all, and while he might have the power of the current Hokage and most of the ANBU protecting him, Naruto was probably less protected now then he would have been had Minato lived. The question was, what else did Danzo's plan involve?

"Assuming I agree to this," she growled, feeling her bile rise as she said that. "How long would I have to wait to tell him?"

Danzo rubbed at his chin as he closed his eye in thought. "Eighteen." he said as he opened his eye. "By eighteen, he should be nearing his prime, and his control over the Kyuubi should be quite good as well."

That would not do. "Six." she stated forcefully. "Kakashi was a Chuunin by that age." she added as Danzo started to object.

"Kakashi wasn't in danger of being hunted down because of his heritage." Danzo retorted. "Sixteen. And that's the youngest I'll accept." he paused there as if something just occurred to him. "However, if you can find a way to reverse…whatever it is that's happened to Naruto-kun, then I suppose this will all be redundant."

Tsunade perked up at that. "So if I can "cure" him, then none of this matters? Everything can stay the way it is?"

Danzo shrugged. "I don't see why not. We'll just have to make sure he understands what he can and can't say about his heritage."

"Deal." Tsunade proclaimed with a grin as she left the office.

* * *

**Flashback ends**

She had been so sure that she could solve this within a few weeks. She was Tsunade-fucking-Senju after all! She was hailed as the single greatest medic-nin in the history of medicine.

Yet even after all these months, she was still no closer to finding a way to restore Naruto's memories. What's worse was the feeling that she could have prevented this. How many times had she come across a dazed or confused Naruto, sometimes even wandering the hallways as if lost? How many times did she see the confusion in his eyes when she brought up something from the past? And each time, she just brushed it aside, assured that nothing could be wrong with her baby boy.

If only she had done something, if only she had checked him sooner, maybe she could have prevented, or at least reduced the damage.

And with each day that passed without her baby recognizing her, with every day that she kept the truth from him, she felt her heart breaking more and more. And as the pain grew, so too did her desperation, and from that, her despair. Until, a little over a month after Naruto's diagnosis, it all boiled over and she did something that she had sworn she would never do again when she had learned she was pregnant.

She drank. A lot.

The next morning, once the hangover had worn off, she had redoubled her efforts to find a cure. And she continued to fail. With each failure, she found herself drinking more and more, until, the only time when one could be sure she was sober, was when she was with Naruto -as she would never let him see her like that- and when she was struggling to find a way to reverse Naruto's condition.

"Damn it!" Tsunade snarled as she swept the scrolls, books, and sake bottles from her desk. "Why can't I fix this!? What is the cause? Is it the Kyuubi's chakra? A side effect of the sealing? What!" She pressed her eyes into the palms of her hands. Her head was killing her, and that knocking sound bouncing around the inside of her head.

She growled as the knocking seemed to grow louder and more insistent. "Can we shut the damn noise!" she growled to herself.

"Tsunade-sama? Are you in here?" came a very familiar voice from the other room.

'_No…no no, no!' _she thought frantically. _'He can't see me like this! I can't let him see me like this!'_ she dashed around the room, shoving sake bottles in drawers and under her bed. Unfortunately, she had far too many bottles to possible hide in the short time she had as the sound of Naruto's footsteps drew closer.

Abandoning the sake bottles, Tsunade moved to cut him off before he entered the room. As she neared the door, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. She looked like…well…like she'd spent the last five hours drinking. Which she had, but that's not the point. The point was, she was a mess.

Tsunade frantically straightened her clothes and tried to fix her hair, discarding her necklace in a nearby drawer when it tangled in her hair. Sadly, there wasn't much else she could do as Naruto stuck his head into the room.

"Tsunade-sama?" he asked, before stepping into the room. "You didn't answer when I called. Are you alright?"

No, she wasn't alright. Still, just looking at him always made her feel better, and her smile showed it. "I'm just fine, Naruto-chan. Why don't we go sit in the other room? This one's a bit of a mess."

Naruto glanced around the room before fixing a deadpan look on her. "Tsunade-sama, it looks like a hurricane hit in here."

Folding her arms, she let out a huff. "Very funny. If I remember right, your room is- don't drink that!" she exclaimed as her arm blurred forward, snatching away the not quiet empty sake bottle that Naruto was sniffing.

"Hey!" he objected. "Give that back!" What followed was a rather humorous dance as Naruto tried to snatch back the bottle and she kept moving her hand out of his reach.

"You can't drink this, Naruto-chan." Tsunade scolded.

"Why not?" he whined as he tried to reclaim it again.

"Because it's not good for you. Sake can cause all kinds of health problems, so I don't want you to ever drink it. Understand?" she lectured as she ushered her little boy out into the other room.

"Really?" Naruto asked worriedly as he stared up at her.

"Really." Tsunade answered with a smile. She had intended to try to illicit a promise from him about never drinking when-

"But then, why do you drink it so much?" Naruto asked confusedly.

"Er…because it's ok since I'm an adult. So it isn't as dangerous for me." Tsunade mentally sighed in relief at dodging the bullet. Or so she thought.

"You mean it's still dangerous!" Naruto looked appalled. "Tsunade-sama, how could you be so reckless!" he asked as he snatched the bottle from a surprised Tsunade. Before she could respond, Naruto darted to the small kitchenette and tossed the bottle in the trash.

She blinked in surprise as Naruto marched up to her with an adorable look of determination on his face. "I want you to promise not to drink sake anymore!" he demanded.

"Excuse me?" Tsunade asked with an incredulous laugh. Just moments ago, she had been planning to get him to swear off alcohol and now here he was doing the same to her?

"You said it yourself, sake is dangerous, so I want you to promise not to drink it anymore." Naruto reiterated.

Tsunade wasn't quite sure how she was going to answer that, but before she could reach a decision, she realized something. Naruto was taking her word for it. He was taking her word as the truth…because he had faith in her…in his eyes, she could do no wrong. Her eyes widened as the pieces came together.

It might be a long shot but…before losing his memories, Naruto always believed Tsunade. Always. To him she was the absolute authority on anything and everything. And he's displaying that same unshakeable faith in her now.

Ok, it _was_ a long shot, but it was the only sign that her baby was still in their somewhere. And that was more than enough reason for her to grin widely and scoop her baby into a hug. "Ok, Naruto-chan, I promise to cut back on my sake." she reassured him as she nuzzled his head. After all, she would probably need a little pick-me-up from time to time.

"Now," she chirped as she loosened her hold on him. "Did you need something?"

Naruto stared up at her in confusion for a moment before exclaiming. "Oh, Ebisu-sensei told me to tell you that Hokage-sama said that we're going to try to use the Kyuubi's chakra tomorrow."

"What?" she asked worriedly. "So soon? But you're only a little boy!" she would definitely be having words with Danzo later.

"Hey! I'm not a little boy! I'm already five years old!" Naruto objected defensively. "Besides," he added with a wide smile. "I know that you can fix anything that might go wrong."

In other circumstances, Tsunade might find Naruto's absolute faith in her heartwarming. But in this case, all she could do was worry.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Danzo sat in his darkened office, sipping some sake while looking over a trio of reports on his desk. The first was a report on young Naruto's progress, and wasn't anything too spectacular overall.

_Name: Naruto Uzumaki_

_Age at Beginning of Training: Three, October 19, 67 A.F._

_Current Age: Five, October 27, 69 A.F._

_Primary Instructor: Chuunin Ebisu_

_Training Details: Training began with the standard Academy curriculum. The trainee was already proficient at reading, and so the focus was switched to writing, which was mastered to a proficient level faster than expected as a result. He struggles with mathematics and science, but this seems to largely be due to a lack of interest. He excels at geography, and has mastered all Academy level studies on the subject._

_Physical conditioning has reached as close to Genin level as possible given the trainee's age. Special attention has been paid to the trainee's speed and reflexes to make up for the inability to improve his physical strength at this time. In addition to his high stamina level, this has allowed the trainee to fight an opponent at Genin level for extended periods of time. Trainee's abilities with basic weapons; kunai, shuriken, etc. is easily at Genin level, and the trainee shows exceptional potential at dynamic fighting. Unable to proceed further due to lack of muscle and reach. NOTE: Recommendation for training in Chakra reinforcement to make up for lack of muscle mass submitted by Chuunin Ebisu, on July 7, 69 A.F._

_Trainee is either able to use all of the Academy Ninjutsu proficiently, or has mastered them. He can use them all without needing to call out the technique for focus. Hand sign speed is adequate for his age. _

_Trainee has also mastered Academy level Genjutsu, as well as Genjutsu Kai. NOTE: Recommendation for beginning the Tree Walking Exercise submitted by Chuunin Ebisu, March 19, 68 A.F. _

_Trainee was able to access his chakra for the first time, three months into his training. Chakra levels have been confirmed to be at a high Genin level. Surprisingly, his chakra control has been rated at low to mid Genin level. (The amount of interference from the Kyuubi seems far less than anticipated. Please advise.)_

Danzo flipped the folder shut without reading the rest. He already knew the report's contents. Young Naruto's abilities were as close to Genin level as a five-year-old could get, and he was pleased with the boy's results. With the exception of his small size, young Naruto was well within the standards of a Genin ranked shinobi. Now they just had to make up for the boys current deficiencies.

To that end, Danzo had approved the use of the Tree Walking Exercise to improve the boy's control, as well as to pave the way for teaching him higher ranked Nin and Genjutsu. Naruto's greatest weakness was definitely in his Taijutsu and basic weapons skills, and Ebisu had come up with the best solution outside of waiting for the boy to grow.

Unfortunately, Danzo had to put the Chakra enhancement training on hold for the time being. It was time they started testing young Naruto's ability to utilize his "prisoner". In fact, he had already arranged for Jiraiya to be present tomorrow when Naruto attempted to channel the Kyuubi's power for the first time.

Danzo couldn't stop the shiver that ran up his spine at the thought of that beast's power. He would never admit it to anyone, but the Kyuubi no Kitsune still haunted his dreams, even after five years. There were even times when he wondered if it wouldn't be better just to leave sleeping demons lie, and just pretend that the Kyuubi really _was_ dead.

But each time that happened, something reminded him of why they needed to use it. Be it a report on Kumo's latest military buildup, or signs of Iwa reigniting hostilities, or when he learned that their _esteemed_ "allies" in Suna had created their own Jinchuuriki shortly after Naruto began his training.

The sad fact of the matter was, they _needed_ the Kyuubi and Naruto in order to check the power of the other Jinchuuriki. _'Besides,' _Danzo reminded himself. _'Didn't I put that Juin Jutsu on Naruto to keep the Kyuubi's power under control? As long as we're careful and don't push the boy too far too fast, everything should be fine.'_

Shaking his head, Danzo turned his attention back to the second folder on his desk, marked S RANK. It was this report that was the cause of his drinking that night. He didn't even bother to open it once again, already having committed it to memory. In fact, he should go ahead and destroy the file to erase all evidence of his deeds from two years ago.

* * *

**Flashback**

Danzo waited patiently in his office after sending a messenger to retrieve Tsunade and her apprentice to assist with a critical condition patient that had just been brought in that night. Really, the odds of this happening on the Senju family's first night in the ANBU facility were almost too good to be true.

Once Danzo was sure they were both in the infirmary, he had put one of his plans into motion. Now he was just waiting to see if things had gone according to plan or not.

'_Speak of the devil…'_ he mused idly as the door opened and one of his ROOT ANBU made his way to kneel in front of his desk. "What do you have to report, Fuu?" he asked, careful to keep his voice relaxed, almost bored as he discreetly observed one of the most promising of his ROOT members.

The Yamanaka rose and stood at attention before his Kage. "The operation is complete, Hokage-sama. There were no complications."

"Good." Danzo murmured in approval. "I trust you followed my instructions to be subtle."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Fuu answered. "It should take several months before the boy completely forgets her, and by then all signs of my Jutsu will have faded away. By the time Tsunade-sama discovers the effects, there will be no evidence that it was anything but natural cause."

Danzo snorted at that. "I somehow doubt she'll believe her only child forgetting her will be the result of "natural causes." Still, as long as there is no proof that we had anything to do with it, then it will serve our purposes well enough." Pausing in thought, he continued. "Make sure to discreetly check on the boy from time to time to insure that nothing goes wrong. Understand?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

* * *

**Flashback Ends**

Just as Fuu had promised, Naruto slowly came to forget his mother, little by little, until just five months ago, when the day came when the boy didn't even recognize her. And it was this that tore at him.

Danzo was no more a stranger to guilt than any other shinobi, and it could be said that he had committed more than his fair share of sins. And it would be the truth. He always took comfort in the fact that each of his many sins had served some greater purpose, had somehow been necessary. It didn't get rid of the guilt completely, but it sure made living with it easier.

Yet even knowing why he did it, knowing that it was important that Naruto be kept from being too influenced by his mother in order to be what Danzo needed him to be, nothing had ever caused him such guilt as seeing Fuu's handiwork. Of hearing the screams of anguish and pain from a devastated mother. Odd considering that objectively speaking, he had done far worse in his life than make someone forget their mother. Of course, not even that lessened his feelings of guilt.

Then there were the unintended consequences. Tsunade hadn't taken her son's…forgetfulness…very well. Not that he actually expected her to have a positive reaction. Still, Tsunade's reaction was more than a little regrettable.

No one outside those who had known of Tsunade's pregnancy knew just what effect it had had on her. Namely, her sudden obsession with maintaining her health and that of her unborn child's. There were few things in this world more terrifying than an overprotective, hormonal, pregnant Tsunade who had decided to go cold turkey when it came to her sake.

It wasn't long after learning of Naruto's…amnesia…that her alcoholism had returned with a vengeance. _'My God that was a nightmare-'_

"Hokage-sama," came his secretary's voice. "Sandaime-sama is here to see you. He says it's urgent."

Turning on the lights, Danzo removed the various reports from his desk and disposed of his sake before responding. "Send him in."

After a brief moment, the door opened to admit his old rival, a rather serious expression on his face. "Danzo." Sarutobi greeted coolly, though he had come to expect such things in the last five years.

"Sarutobi. Please, have a seat. How about some tea before we get started?" He asked amicably. "I think you'll enjoy it, it's a new blend that I discovered while in the market the other day."

"Yes please, that sounds quite nice." Sarutobi agreed as he took a seat in front of Danzo's desk. As they both sipped at their drinks, Danzo studied his former rival turned predecessor. The man was looking fairly well for his age, though Danzo was pleasantly pleased to note that the man's baldness had increased some since their last meeting, while Danzo retained a decent head of hair. Petty of him perhaps, but then, old habits do die-hard. Sarutobi appeared to have been increasing his training somewhat in the last few years, so he seemed to be retaining the majority of his skills.

Perhaps more important, he knew that Sarutobi hadn't been overtly doing anything to usurp his authority. On the surface, the man kept to himself and his family, living the life of a retired man, usually broken only by visiting with his student Jiraiya. This is not to say that Danzo thought Sarutobi wasn't trying to usurp him, just that the man was keeping it subtle, restricted to intelligence gathering for the most part. However, Danzo seriously doubted that Jiraiya and Sarutobi were meeting to discuss porn of all things.

Other than that, the man looked about the same as always, though he may have gained a few more wrinkles due the work Danzo had assigned him.

It had taken some thought, but he eventually found something to occupy the old monkey's time, shortly after the Senju moved into the ANBU complex. He had decided to put Sarutobi "in charge" of Konoha's diplomatic core, where the man "thrived". Sarutobi had managed to maintain the current state of affairs with the various nations. Despite what some may think, Danzo was not opposed to using diplomacy when possible. He just didn't put much faith in the other parties upholding their end of the deal. There was a difference.

Most people made the mistake of thinking that diplomacy was only about creating or maintaining peace/alliances. However, the truth of the matter was that allies and peace were only a part of it, though the most well-known. Diplomacy was also about intelligence gathering, manipulation, sabotage, even war. Perhaps the greatest game of chess, diplomacy was used to set nations against each other, while one's own nation could reap the benefits.

A prime example was the last Great War, where through subtle manipulations, false intelligence, and diplomacy, diplomats from Iwa and Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth) managed to convince Suna's council that Konoha was responsible for the disappearance of their Sandaime Kazekage. They subtly influenced the various members, arranging for this council member to discover this information, for a diplomat to make an offhand comment to that member. This continued until eventually, when the Suna council pooled their "information" they found themselves with "the truth". And all the while, Iwa made it seem like Suna had "discovered" it themselves.

They had even managed to manipulate the situation so that the more Konoha denied involvement, the more certain Suna became that they were close to recovering their beloved Kazekage. And then came Sakumo Hatake's disaster of a mission.

The result of course, was Suna attacking Hi no Kuni in force, intent on recovering their leader and occupying most of Kawa no Kuni in the process. And while Konoha was reeling from the unwarranted assault, Iwa made its own move, launching a massive invasion that overran Kusa no Kuni in less than a week, and then moving on to seize a majority of Hi no Kuni's northwestern provinces. Once that was accomplished, they launched a smaller, though no less devastating attack on Kaze no Kuni, who had already committed most of their forces to their offensive against Hi no Kuni.

At that point, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Iwa would come out as the real winner, regardless of whether Suna or Konoha won the war. Even when Konoha got around to launching a counter attack against Iwa, it seemed likely that Tsuchi no Kuni would retain most of its new holdings. That is, until Minato Namikaze finished his Hiraishin.

In the following weeks, Minato did more damage to Iwa's forces than the rest of Konoha's forces did in the previous two years, pushing the Iwa Nin all the way into Kusa no Kuni. A month later, and the war was over, ending in a negotiated peace that left Konoha as the undisputed victor.

In the end, Konoha received a new "ally" in the form of Suna, who were finally left with no choice but to choose a Yondaime Kazekage and to officially apologize to Konoha and Hi no Kuni for their false accusations and starting the war. They also had to pay a large sum of "reparation" money, and remove all of their forces from the then occupied Kawa no Kuni. In short, they lost a great deal of manpower and respect in the war, and gained nothing other than an "ally" in Konoha.

Iwa on the other hand, didn't even gain that much. They too were forced to pay reparation and to take the blame for escalating the conflict to the status of the Third Great Shinobi War. On top of that, their military capabilities were shattered by Minato, and Iwa still hadn't recovered more than five years later.

Finally, Hi no Kuni was able to claim close to half of prewar Kusa no Kuni's land, citing the massive casualties Konoha suffered driving the Iwa forces out of the country as justification. Kusa's Daimyo protested this of course, but with no one else at the negotiating table powerful enough to check Konoha, there was little that could be done. Kusa no Kuni was left as a de facto ally of Konoha, forced to depend on them to prevent Tsuchi no Kuni and Iwa from invading once more, or worse, Sanshouo no Hanzo and Ame no Kuni.

Danzo studied the man who had been largely responsible for the negotiations, alongside Minato himself. The Daimyo's court had largely praised the outcome of the war, and put their "full" support behind them, much to Danzo's disgust.

They had been in the perfect position to destroy or cripple beyond repair, three different Shinobi Villages, two of them among the Great Villages. Without their villages, Kaze and Tsuchi no Kuni would have been easy prey for the various shinobi nations to pick away, piece by piece. At that point, Konoha and Hi no Kuni's only threat on the mainland would have been Kumo and Kaminari no Kuni.

Instead, the status quo remained unchanged, and Konoha's enemies were left to lick their wounds and slowly recover their strength, leaving a new war as the inevitable outcome, continuing the cycle.

"So," Danzo broke the silence. "What brings you here? Shouldn't you be looking after your daughter and grandson? I heard you actually named the poor kid after the village?" he asked with a wry smirk.

"I'll have you know, Konohamaru is a fine name." Sarutobi retorted. "But that's not what I came here for." Taking a scroll from his own robes, he placed it on the desk before continuing in a grave tone. "You need to see this. It just arrived an hour ago."

Dropping his smirk, Danzo took the scroll and unrolled it. With each line he read, he felt his incredulity grow more and more, before turning his stare onto the Sandaime. "Kumo is offering…peace?" he asked unbelievingly.

"So they claim." Sarutobi answered. "And while they don't say it outright, there are hints of a military alliance. There isn't much in the way of details yet, but their Yondaime Raikage would like to send us their Shinobi Gashira as a sign of their goodwill, and to begin the negotiations."

That got a raised eyebrow from him. That Kumo would be willing to send their equivalent of a Jounin Hancho into the heart of another shinobi village, with little to no security was unheard of. Which could be a sign of their seriousness. Or it could mean something else.

"I know you don't really believe in things like allies and peace through diplomacy." Sarutobi continued after seeing the look on his face. "But this could be the chance for the first alliance involving three of the Great Shinobi Villages in the history of the Hidden Villages. If this pans out, the mainland will have a lasting peace finally. Surely you see this as an opportunity we can't afford to miss."

Danzo snorted. "That's interesting coming from you. Or have you forgotten that it was Kumo Nin who killed Nidaime-sama, your own sensei?" he said wryly. "Besides, I have complete faith in our Taki allies. They, at least, have proven themselves time and again."

"Yes, Taki has proven themselves to be trustworthy." Sarutobi conceded. "But do keep in mind; they were once our enemies as well. They even tried to assassinate Shodai-sama, yet they're now our oldest and closest friends. Why can't Kumo do the same?"

"They can, just as soon as they stand by and honor a treaty for half a century." Danzo retorted. Sighing, he raised his hand to forestall any more arguments. "Send them a reply saying we're willing to talk. We'll go along with the talks for now, and I'll make a final decision later on."

"Very well, I suppose I should be glad you're at least willing to consider it." he paused there for a moment before asking, "If we do enter a military alliance with them, do you plan to use this to wage war on the other villages? I know you were never satisfied with how the last Great War ended, but I'd like to think you wouldn't start another war over it."

Glancing at his old rival, Danzo stood and made his way to the window, looking out over their village. "I will do what is necessary to protect our home. Not to settle a grudge, or to expand our power and influence. If it becomes necessary for us to fight a war to defend our values and our people, then so be it."

When it became obvious that he would say no more on the matter, Sarutobi eventually excused himself and left Danzo to his thoughts.

After a few minutes, he left as well, heading deeper into the building and entering one Konoha's most restricted areas. The War Room.

Another common misconception among civilians and rookie Genin was that the War Room was just that. A room used during war times. That notion was not only false, but also stupid. If they actually dismantled the War Room during peace, then they'd lose precious time setting it back up every time a war broke out, and in the hectic confusion of resetting it, key information could be lost or misplaced.

In reality, the large room was always in use, covered in maps, intelligence reports, logistics, the works. This made it far simpler to keep track of the various situations throughout the Elemental Nations.

As he entered, he nodded in acknowledgement to the men and women who kept it up and running, constantly updating the information presented on the large table that took up the center of the room, covered in a large map of the Elemental Nations, along with some key notes on whatever might be going on in each nation.

The rest of the information was separated and kept at the various desks and work areas lining the walls of the room, each area reserved for information pertaining to a single country.

It was to the main table that he walked, staring down as he pondered the new situation with Kumogakure, and how it would affect the nations around Konoha.

He started with the western border with Kawa. Outside of a few scattered ninja clans, Kawa lacked a shinobi military, and due to the way the current Kawa came into being -a treaty between Hi and Kaze to create a buffer zone following the end of the Second Great Shinobi War - they also lacked a unified conventional military. Many of the feudal lords refused to accept the current Daimyo as a legitimate leader, claiming that he was just a puppet of Hi and Kaze, despite the fact that the first Daimyo of the current Kawa died less than two years after the country's formation.

Overall, while they could become a powerful nation in their own right, they'd have to actually work _together_ to accomplish it. Something they'd yet to show any signs of doing, and as such, they were no threat against any nation, let alone one of the Five.

Beyond Kawa was Kaze no Kuni and Konoha's newest ally, Sunagakure. Their alliance was the first between two Great Shinobi Villages, and was seen by many as a great stride towards a lasting peace. But Danzo knew better. After the Third Great Shinobi War, Suna had no choice but to accept peace on Konoha's terms, and even after almost six years, they had yet to recover their full strength, despite the creation of a Jinchuuriki three years ago. Their situation was made even more difficult by their Daimyo's anger from the last Great War. Whether as a punishment or because he no longer trusted Suna, the Kaze Daimyo had all but cut off funding to the village.

Their current Kazekage was powerful in his own right, and Kaze's natural defenses made conquering them a daunting task. Beyond that, their Puppet Corp allowed them to field a rather large army of warriors, which is probably part of the reason they had survived to this point.

Overall, Suna was not only the smallest of the major villages, but also currently the weakest, relatively speaking. Despite that, there were only one or two of the "minor" villages at most that could match them militarily, and their influence was still a powerful thing. Depending on the situation, Suna could prove to be an asset in the event of war. Or a liability, if they think they have a chance for revenge.

Turning his gaze to their northwestern neighbors, Danzo found his eye resting on Ame no Kuni. There was disturbingly little information on Ame in the last few years due to Hanzo's policy of isolationism. There were some evidence of a possible civil strife, but nothing concrete, and Danzo hadn't seen Hanzo since the Third Great War when they banded together to deal with a growing peace movement in Ame no Kuni. The battle resulted in horrific casualties among their respective forces, yet they seemed to have accomplished their objective as the group faded away shortly after, leaving Hanzo's power secure and Ame's neutrality in the war assured.

Fortunately, what little information they had suggested that Ame still hadn't recovered its strength to the point they once possessed during the Second Great War. The _current _Great Villages didn't like to talk about it, but Amegakure had once possesed the title of a Great Shinobi Nation itself. Back then, Ame had encompassed parts of present day Tsuchi, Hi, Tori, Kusa, Kawa, and Kaze, making it the largest nation outside of the Great Five themselves. It was also a rather dirty secret that instead of isolationism, Hanzo had once preached imperialism and constant expansion, telling his people that "if we don't expand, we die". And given their fanatical loyalty –or fear- of the man, Ame no Kuni was more than willing to die for Hanzo's military conquests.

As a result, once the Second Great War started, Iwa, Konoha, and Suna had an unspoken agreement. Ame had to fall. Throughout the war, even as they fought each other, each of the three made it a point to deal as much damage as possible to Ame, until in the last few years of the war, Ame's territory had been reduced to its present state, with the rest of the land being seized by the neighboring nations. This was also the bloodiest period of the war, as not only Hanzo take the field himself, viciously defending his remaining territory, but the shinobi of the other three Great Villages involved kept clashing with eachother within Ame no Kuni as well. In the end, Sarutobi had ordered another invasion led by his own students to break Hanzo's will to fight. Unfortunately, this didn't happen until after the man had attacked the three themselves, killing all others who were with them, before sparing the three and giving them the title "Densetsu no Sannin".

The war ended a few weeks later with the formation of Kawa and a treaty of nonaggression signed between Konoha and Ame. Iwa and Suna stopped fighting simply because of the sheer damage that Hanzo had caused them single-handedly; no one had dared attack Ame since, in fear of the slaughter Hanzo would wreak upon them before they finally brought him down. Which made Ame no Kuni an excellent buffer nation.

Overall, while he would never dare say that Hanzo wasn't a threat, he seemed to be more than willing stay within his own borders.

To Ame's northeast was the current Kusa no Kuni, a ragtag collection of farming villages and small cities, with Kusagakure probably the weakest of the Hidden Villages. Granted, that was like saying Suna was the "weakest" of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, or that the Ichibi was the "weakest" of the Bijuu. Still, other than Kusagakure itself, the only reason the nation still existed at all was because Konoha wanted a buffer between Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni.

Their only real military power was in Kusagakure itself, completely lacking any conventional force outside of militias. Meaning that in the event of war, Kusagakure would have no choice but send a great deal of their shinobi to fend off the Samurai and conscript armies of their enemies, in addition to trying to hold off any shinobi sent against them.

Officially, Kusa no Kuni had no allies or treaties with anyone. Unofficially, they were de facto allies with Konoha and Hi no Kuni, counting on them to act as a deterrent against a second invasion by Iwa, while using Iwa's hostility towards Konoha to keep a desire for their nation to act as a buffer.

The last of the buffer nations was Konoha's longtime ally, Taki. Like Sarutobi had said, they had started as enemies, yet they joined forces during the First Great Shinobi War. They had remained allies ever since, despite the odds. Danzo hadn't fully trusted them until the Third Great War, when Konoha faced defeat and Taki had everything to gain by betraying Konoha to side with Iwa or Suna, hell, even siding with only themselves. Yet they didn't. They remained loyal to their alliance for a rather simple reason. The people of Taki no Kuni and Takigakure were a rather…honorable people. Surprising given the way the world was run. They gave their word when they signed the treaty, and they would honor it so long as Konoha did. It was that simple.

Taki competed with Ame for the unofficial title of "the strongest of the "minor" villages" and was perhaps the closest one to gaining the title of a Great Shinobi Nation. The terrain that made up Taki no Kuni was among the toughest in the world, and they were masters at defending themselves. Add in their Jinchuuriki and their Hero's Water, and they were almost impossible to be successfully invaded.

If there was anyone Konoha could count on, it was Taki.

There were only a handful of other nations bordering Hi no Kuni to the north, two of which -Ishi, which was originally a part of Taki prior to their rebellion, and Yu no Kuni- had little to no shinobi presence. Though why Yu no Kuni would disband Yugakure in all but name baffled Danzo. Ironically, the one with the largest number of active shinobi was also the smallest country.

Ta no Kuni had over a score of ninja clans, and prior to the Third Great War, could field well over three thousand shinobi. However, the Daimyo of Ta no Kuni during that time was…well, an idiot. He fancied himself a great general and squandered his shinobi fighting pointless battles against the neighboring nations, until his country was reduced to it's current incarnation of an agricultural state that struggled to remain above poverty. The various ninja clans under his command took the brunt of the war, and could now only field a few hundred at most.

And what did the fool Daimyo do then? He moved away to Mizu no Kuni, blaming the shinobi for not fighting well enough to defend the nation, then going somewhere where his "talents" could be better appreciated. Oddly, the man was assassinated en route to Mizu, the killers never identified. How strange.

Ishi no Kuni possessed a decent conventional military, but couldn't pose a real threat to any of their neighbors due to their lack of a shinobi force, even Ta no Kuni would stand a decent chance against them.

That left only two nations on the southern peninsula. Cha no Kuni was a powerful nation economically speaking, but possessed little in the way of military strength. It didn't help that the country and its government were saturated by various yakuza families, which were usually locked in a deadly game of cat and mouse, each trying to increase their own influence while damaging their enemies.

Officially, Cha was a vassal state to Hi no Kuni, paying a rather sizeable annual tribute in exchange for Konoha's services and protection from anyone who would seek to take Cha no Kuni's wealth for themselves.

Unofficially, Hi and Cha no Kuni's economies were so closely tied together, that Hi no Kuni couldn't afford to lose Cha to anyone else, without the very real risk of an economic collapse. Which was why Hi no Kuni had never tried to expand further onto the peninsula.

The other nation on the peninsula benefited from that decision as well, allowing the rather unstable nation -which had been known to change its name and ruling family three or four times a year- to hold together despite the overwhelming presence of Hi no Kuni.

Satisfied that he had a good grasp on the political and military issues surrounding his nation, Danzo turned his attention to the northeast, beyond Yu and Shimo no Kuni to Kaminari no Kuni.

Following the end of the First Great Shinobi War, Kumogakure and Kaminari had turned their collective attention to the nations to their north, conquering and subjugating them one by one over the years, ignoring the conflicts in the other nations up until the waning years of the Second Great Shinobi War. It was then that they attempted to push south, only to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the then Uzushiogakure led coalition of Shimogakure and Yugakure, allowing Konoha to send their own forces to fend them off.

The brief but bloody war between Kumo and the Uzu coalition resulted in Kumo conquering a quarter of Shimo no Kuni, but they never again journeyed south in great numbers outside a brief attempt at annexing the various islands of the Adrisian Sea. The shinobi of Uzu, particularly the ruling Uzumaki clan, were all but wiped out, resulting in the country and its Hidden Village being destroyed almost overnight by a surprise attack by Kiri, who saw an opportunity to destroy one of the only Villages it truly feared. Even then it cost them two of their legendary Swords.

Since then, Kumo had remained within their borders, even during the Third Great War, although the political tension had never really faded. Until now that is.

Could Kumo really be willing to discuss peace now? After all these years? Why? What did they have to gain from this? Was it really just to lessen the tension between their two nations? Or did they have an ulterior motive?

Motioning for one of the shinobi guards to him, Danzo ordered, "Send for Jiraiya, and tell him it's urgent."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." the man said with a bow before making his way from the room.

Call him paranoid, but Danzo just couldn't quite believe that the situation was as simple as it seemed. But what was Kumo after?

He continued staring at the map, trying to find the missing key that would reveal Kumo's intentions. Danzo was so lost in thought that he failed to notice Jiraiya's arrival until the man spoke. "What's so important you had me dragged away from my research?"

Danzo felt every muscle in his body tense at the sound of Jiraiya's voice and he had to physically restrain himself from lashing out at the man. _'Fool!' _he cursed himself. _'You can't afford to forget just what Jiraiya is! He might act like an idiot at times, but the man is one of the greatest ninjas to come out of Konoha, and he _is_ the greatest spy.'_

Danzo had no doubt that if Sarutobi and his students ever made a move against him, it would be Jiraiya who would kill him. Likely without him ever knowing the attack was coming.

"Jiraiya." Danzo greeted, trying not to give away just how shaken he was. "I'm sure you've heard about the latest development with Kumo?"

The Gama-sennin leaned against the table and folded his arms, studying him with a blank face. When he finally spoke, it was with a neutral tone. "If you're referring to their supposed offer of peace, then yes, I've heard about it."

"Supposed offer?" Danzo questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You don't seem as optimistic as your sensei."

Jiraiya shrugged nonchalantly. "Sensei doesn't know everything I know. Besides, he's always optimistic when it comes to a diplomatic peace. It's in his nature."

He nodded in agreement, as he turned back to the map, studying Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye. "What do you know? Do you have any proof as to their intentions?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I don't have any idea what their intent is. What I do know is that they've continued their military buildup unabated for the last eight years. Unlike us, they haven't been in a major conflict since the end of the Second Great War." he paused as if considering something before adding, "And they've finally managed to get a stable Jinchuuriki for the Hachibi, in addition to the Nibi."

That caught his attention. "The Hachibi? I was under the impression that they still couldn't create a stable container. When did this happen?"

"They sealed it inside the current host thirteen years ago. Since then, he's been able to gain an amazing amount of control over his Bijuu. Add in the Nibi and their ordinary shinobi forces, they have no reason to want an alliance with us, if they don't have anything planned." Jiraiya paused again before continuing. "The only thing that makes any sense is that whatever they want; they don't want Konoha to interfere with it. They might even want our help with it."

"So then the question remains." Danzo sighed, "What do they want that peace with us would help them accomplish? Expansion? Acquiring resources? Undercutting the other villages? What?"

"Expansion is a possibility. Especially when they're already beginning to undercut Iwa." Jiraiya conceded, "But their targets would be limited to Shimo. Unless, of course, they decide to try annexing the islands of the Adrisian Sea again."

"Yes," Danzo mused, "I suppose they would want our help to prevent another intervention from Kirigakure. Especially after what Kiri did to them when they tried after the Second Great War." He sighed again and rubbed at his eye tiredly. "But I don't suppose we have any proof of any of this, do we?"

Jiraiya just shook his head and ran his eyes over the map.

After several moments of silence, Danzo said, "See what you can find out. They say they'll send their Shinobi Gashira to represent them in the peace talks. Do what you can and see what your informants can pick up."

"Fine. Now if you'll excuse me." The Sannin said as he started to leave.

"One more thing, Jiraiya." Danzo called. "Naruto-kun will be attempting to access _its _chakra tomorrow. I want you to be there."

That stopped the man in his tracks. "So soon? Don't you think we should wait until he's a little older?"

"Calm down, I'm not asking the boy to try to master _it_ in a day. Just to see if he can access it yet or not. And if something goes wrong, I can immobilize him while you do what needs to be done to the seal." Danzo said tiredly before thinking of something. "By the way, do we know who the Hachibi Jinchuuriki is?"

Jiraiya clenched his jaw momentarily before answering. "His name is Kirabi. He's the younger brother of the current Raikage."

Danzo snorted at that. _'How fitting'_.

* * *

**Two months later**

December 27, 69 A.F.

Danzo sighed as he tiredly massaged his head. Just a few hours ago, after weeks of stalling and political dancing, he had given in to Sarutobi and the council, and signed the treaty with Kumogakure.

The treaty was very similar to the ones they already had with Taki and Suna. A simple, mutual defense pact, increased trade, and obviously, a non-aggression pact, all mixed into one package. Everything they would want in a treaty. Yet Danzo couldn't help but be disgruntled.

He _knew_ Kumo didn't want the treaty for the sake of having a treaty. They had to have a reason for it. They didn't need any part of the treaty, unlike Suna who were left incredibly vulnerable following the last Great War, or Kusa whose existence was dependent on it.

But even after looking into the situation, even throughout the negotiations, the closest he came to finding the answer was a handful of vague comments about a "possible conflict of interests" with another village or "fending off future aggressions". Fending off whom? Conflicts of interest with whom?

'_Well, I suppose we'll find out soon enough.' _Danzo thought with a sigh. _'I wonder if I should have at least held out for a better offer before agreeing.'_

"Hokage-sama!" A Tori masked ROOT ANBU burst into the room. "There's been an incident."

Straightening in his seat, Danzo leveled a stern glare at him. "Report." he ordered.

"Kumo's Shinobi Gashira has kidnapped the Hyuuga Heiress, Hinata. He was intercepted and killed by Hiashi Hyuuga." the ANBU reported stoically.

'_Son of a bitch!' _Danzo mentally cursed. "How did he get inside the Hyuuga compound? Did he have inside help?"

"It appears he's been canvassing the compound since he arrived. Kumogakure must have been planning this from the beginning." Tori answered.

"I want the other members of Kumo's delegation arrested and taken to Ibiki immediately." Danzo ordered. "Send for the council; tell them to assemble within the hour."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the Tori masked ANBU saluted before Shunshining away.

'_Damn it, out of all the possible motives, I can't believe I never considered this!' _Danzo growled to himself. "Tatsu, Hebi!" he barked angrily as he grabbed a blank scroll and scribbled furiously.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the two acknowledged as they kneeled in front of him.

"Tatsu, I want you to find Hizashi Hyuuga and give him this scroll. Make sure no one sees you do so." Danzo ordered as he handed the scroll to him. "I can't stress the importance of this enough, Tatsu. Absolutely no one is to know about this."

"I understand, Hokage-sama." Tatsu said as he took the scroll and left via Shunshin.

Writing up another scroll, this one far more eloquent and respectful. "Hebi, get a team of the fastest ANBU together, and deliver this scroll the Daimyo. I want this scroll in his hands no later than tomorrow."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" and with that Danzo was left "alone" with his thoughts. Turning his chair to face the window. The current peace, which had lasted for almost six years, would undoubtedly be shattered by this incident. And it would be up to him to lead the Great Tree through the coming storm. It was a storm he intended to see through to the end.

* * *

Danzo stood on the roof of the Hokage building, staring down on the gathered populace of the village. He had called the entire village together for his speech, and to bear witness to the end of an era.

"A few days ago, on December 27th, 69 A.F," Danzo began solemnly, silencing the low murmuring as he did so. "One of our oldest and proudest clans was suddenly and deliberately attacked, by the delegation from Kumogakure. The goal of this attack was two-fold. The first was the kidnapping of the Hyuuga Heiress, three year-old Hinata Hyuuga. Their intention was to eventually use little Hinata as a breeding tool, raping her over and over again until her body finally shut down, her children raised as mindless slaves and weapons of Kumogakure." He was forced to stop as the gathering erupted into roars of outrage and angry disbelief.

He could understand their disbelief. After all, didn't Kumo offer them peace? Didn't they just sign the treaty a few days ago?

Once Danzo had reestablished order, he reassured them. "Thankfully, that part of their plans was thwarted, by little Hinata's father, Hiashi Hyuuga." This was met by numerous exclamations of "Thank God!" and "Good work Hiashi!"

"Unfortunately," Danzo began again. "The second goal was successful. The Kumo Nin succeeded in stealing or destroying large portions of the Hyuuga clan's archives. Since then, we have confronted the Raikage, and he in turn has demanded that we release the captured Kumo Nin, and turn over Hiashi so that they may punish him, for the death of their Shinobi Gashira, the man who led this attack, kidnapping Hinata himself. The Raikage says that if we refuse to turn Hiashi over to them, the very people who attacked his family, _our_ family, they will go to war against us. _They_, who blatantly broke the treaty between us before it was even a day old, threaten _us_ with war."

He paused as the crowd began to murmur angrily, some in shock or surprise, others in fear. "It is obvious," he continued, raising his voice to be heard. "That planning this attack began many weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Raikage of Kumo has deliberately sought to deceive us with false statements, and proclamations of hope for a new, lasting peace. The attack on the Hyuuga compound has caused severe damage to Konoha's security, and was a significant blow to our military power."

The cries of outrage grew louder, forcing Danzo to raise his hands in a motion for silence. "No matter how long it may take us, to overcome this premeditated invasion, the people of Konohagakure, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory." he was interrupted again, this time by thunderous applause from the crowd, mixed in with cheers of approval and jeers against Kumo and their demands. Rather than try to calm them, Danzo merely raised his voice and continued. "Because of this, unprovoked, dastardly attack by Kumo, I've asked the Daimyo to declare a state of war." Danzo reached into his robes and withdrew a scroll bearing the symbol of the Daimyo. "I have here, his response. 'Tell me what you need to defeat this great threat, and we will meet those needs.'"

Rolling the scroll back up, Danzo gazed over the crowd again. "As of this moment, we are at war. Take all necessary steps to prepare yourselves, and your families. That is all, and may the Will of Fire watch over us all."

Turning away, Danzo went back to his office, plans and counter-plans running through his head. Despite what he had said, the war hadn't actually started yet, and likely wouldn't for some time. There would likely be months of political and diplomatic maneuvering in both nations, by those who wished to avoid a war at all costs, and those who wished to stall it.

And as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, Danzo was part of the latter. He needed time to enact the necessary changes to his village, and to gather allies that he could trust. Besides that, he hoped to better prepare young Naruto for the coming conflict. Not to mention finding a way to neutralize Iwa and to avoid being so weakened by the war with Kumo that they could no longer influence the world.

"Hokage-sama," one of his ANBU spoke as he appeared before him. "Hiashi-sama is demanding to see you."

'_Hmm, it took him longer than I was expecting.' _Danzo thought amusedly. "Send him in." he ordered as he shuffled through some of the papers on his desk. _'This should be interesting.'_ he mused just as an enraged Hiashi stormed into his office.

"What is the meaning of this?" Hiashi demanded in a cold fury. "You have no right to do this."

Glancing up from his work, Danzo asked with a flat tone. "Perhaps you would have preferred it if I gave in to their demands and handed you over to them? Even knowing what happened, there are those in both Konoha and the Daimyo's court who would see sacrificing you as acceptable in order to avoid a war."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it, Danzo." Hiashi stated, his Hyuuga composure cracking slightly.

"That's Hokage-sama to you." Danzo pointed out coldly. "And contrary to popular belief, I'm not a mind reader. Now, if you're done acting like a child throwing a tantrum, perhaps you could enlighten me."

Hiashi took a deep breath, holding onto his composure, if only just. "Why did you send the ANBU to round up the Hyuuga Branch family? Why aren't I being allowed to see them?"

"I would think that's obvious." Danzo commented dryly. "Kumo Nin made off with a portion of your archives. Archives that included information on the Hyuuga Caged Bird seal."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Are you accusing members of my clan of conspiring with Kumogakure?" he asked, obviously insulted and enraged by the implication. In fact, if he didn't know better, Danzo would say the man was actually suspicious himself.

"Of course not." Danzo snorted. "I have complete faith in them. But as I said, they made off with some of your scrolls. We must assume that the ones on the Caged Bird seal are among them. Imagine the damage they could do with those scrolls? The ability to fry the brains of dozens of our shinobi whenever they wish." he shook his head before setting a cold glare on the Hyuuga. "No, we can't take that risk. So I've rounded up the Branch family…and I'm having their seals removed."

"What!" Hiashi spat, his calm finally gone. "You can't do that, you don't have the right to do that!"

"I have every right." Danzo said idly, turning his attention back to his paperwork.

"The Shodai Hokage explicitly promised to honor the rights of the clans, to not interfere their internal aff-"Hiashi tried to object.

"I'm well aware of what the Shodai promised." Danzo interrupted smoothly. "I was there when he said it after all. But that doesn't apply here."

"Who are you to decide that!?" Hiashi spat angrily. "I demand you put a stop to this at once and return my clansmen!"

"Or else what?" Danzo asked with a raised eyebrow. "I do not have to, nor will I ever give in to such a demand that places such a large threat on the village." Standing to his feet, Danzo placed the Hokage hat on his head. "Now, if there is nothing else, I have a lot of work to do."

Danzo could almost hear Hiashi's teeth grind as the man hissed. "This isn't over."

Once Hiashi had left, Danzo made his way to the ANBU compound where Hizashi and the others had been taken. With the few ANBU members capable of seal work there as well, they should have about a quarter of the Hyuuga unsealed. _'I'll have to help speed things along.'_ he thought to himself.

Arriving at the compound, one would expect an atmosphere of fear or anxiety. What greeted Danzo was an excited, restless feeling in the air as Hyuuga clansmen paced anxiously awaiting their turn or laughing happily as they marveled their newfound freedom. "Hokage-sama!" one of the Branch children called, causing him to become the center of attention. "Where've you been? The ANBU said you were on your way a long time ago!"

Danzo looked down on the child in surprised amusement. The four year-old was unusually expressive for a Hyuuga. "My apologies. I got caught up in a meeting with Hiashi-san." And with those simple words, every Hyuuga stopped whatever they were doing. Glancing around, Danzo saw that every Hyuuga was staring at him worriedly, though some showed it more than others.

He could almost hear what they were thinking. "Hiashi must have demanded that the Hokage stop unsealing them. He would have put all of his not inconsiderable power into the demand. What if the Hokage relented? No Hokage had ever involved himself in a clan's internal affairs before, let alone so blatantly. Would he take away their newly gained freedom?"

Keeping up a stony expression, Danzo slowly made his way to where the ANBU were seated next to small tables holding ink and brushes, with an equal number of seats opposite them. Once there he nodded to a Tora masked ANBU and took a seat. "Well," he sighed as he got comfortable. "Who's next?" he asked with a smile as he picked up a brush.

There was a sort of shocked disbelief from the gathered Hyuuga, so still smiling, Danzo motioned to a nearby girl, a child of no more than seven or eight, to sit before him, even going so far as to pat the seat in what he imagined was a grandfatherly way. "Go on lass." he said gently. "Take a seat."

Her eyes widened in disbelief, before she slowly sat in front of him.

Still smiling, he reached out and gently tilted her head so he could see her seal. "Now, just keep your head like that, and try not to squirm." he admonished lightly as he slowly drew his brush across her forehead, eliciting a slight giggle from the girl. As if it were a signal, the tense atmosphere shattered, and the excitement returned to the room.

A few minutes and a few hand seals later, the girl's Caged Bird seal faded away as if it had never been. The girl rubbed at her forehead for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Thank you, Hokage-sama!" she chirruped as she leaned forward and hugged him, much to his surprise. A moment later, she skipped away to chatter excitedly with another child, her younger sister if he had to guess.

Watching the little girls, Danzo couldn't help but feel a small amount of regret. There was a time when he had considered having a family of his own, particularly grandchildren that he could watch over and teach, to be looked up to by small grandchildren and respected by older ones.

But somewhere along the way, he'd lost sight of that, or perhaps, he had just kept putting it off, telling himself that he'd settle down as soon as the war was over, as soon as the village was safe. But the village was never truly safe, the wars never ended for long, and before he knew it, he was a scarred old man, unable to see himself in a relationship.

'_It was probably for the best.' _he thought with a bittersweet smile. _'I wouldn't have been able to care for a family very well, being who I am. They would have been in constant danger from the, admittedly, many people with a grudge against me.' _Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he gestured for the next Hyuuga to sit in front of him.

It took a few more hours for them to finish, but eventually every Hyuuga was seal free. Stretching, Danzo turned and found the gathered Hyuuga standing in front of him, Hizashi and his son Neji at the forefront. "Hokage-sama. We can never thank you enough for this." Hizashi said solemnly, the mirror opposite of little Neji who was smiling brightly.

"No," Danzo shook his head. "If anything, I've done too little. For my entire life, your family has suffered in bondage, and no one, myself included, did anything to stop it." He elicited more than a few gasps when he bowed to them. "Forgive me for my inaction." he asked with a tinge of regret in his voice.

"No!" a young voice cried out. "It's not your fault Hokage-sama, and you've freed us now!" Neji spoke fiercely. "We can't blame you anymore than we could blame the Yondaime, or the Shodai himself!"

The boy's outburst triggered a number of similar sentiments from the others, each expressing how he did what he could, or that at least he had done something to help them. More importantly were the declarations of undying respect and loyalty that they offered him.

Through it all, Danzo had inwardly smiled. Konoha was now at war, and he had enraged the Hyuuga's Main family. But he now had the Branch family, several times larger than the main family, loyal to his cause.

* * *

**Translations**

Shinobi Gashira=Head Shinobi, for this story, he's the equivalent of Konoha's Jounin Commander.

Densetsu no Sannin= the Legendary Three Ninja

Jounin Hancho= Jounin Commander

Sanshouo no Hanzo= Hanzo the Salamander

Kaa-chan=Mommy

Juin Jutsu=Curse Seal

Sensei=Teacher/master/doctor

Tora=Tiger

Tori=Bird

Hebi=Snake

Tatsu=Dragon

Gama-sennin=Toad Sage

Hi no Kuni=Land of Fire

Tsuchi no Kuni=Land of Earth

Kaminari no Kuni=Land of Lighting

Kaze no Kuni=Land of Wind

Mizu no Kuni=Land of Water

Ame no Kuni=Land of Rain

Kusa no Kuni=Land of Grass

Taki no Kuni=Land of Waterfalls

Uzu no Kuni=Land of Whirlpools

Ta no Kuni=Land of Rice

Cha no Kuni=Land of Tea

Yu no Kuni=Land of Hot Springs

Shimo no Kuni=Land of Frost

Ishi no Kuni=Land of Stone

Kawa no Kuni=Land of River

Did I miss any?

* * *

**AN:**

I never understood why Konoha would give in to Kumo's demands, even if to avoid a war. So I had Danzo purposefully say things the way he did to incite the crowd. After all, what would offend you more, "Kumo tried to kidnap a little girl to steal her bloodline" or "Kumo kidnapped a little girl in order to rape her over and over again"? I don't know if Kumo really intended to rape Hinata or not(though I don't know how else they could get her bloodline), but being forced to be a breeding machine, even if only through artificial insemination, isn't too much different than rape. Plus, it pisses people off, which unites them for a time, and as any leader will tell you, it's always better to have all the people united behind you during a time of war. Some of you probably noticed how similar Danzo's speech was to FDR's following the attack on Pearl Harbor. This is because: A, I'm not a speech writer, and B, the public opinion during these two events strike me as incredibly similar. At the time, many Americans thought the Japanese had deliberately lied to them by acting like they wanted peace while in reality planning to attack them all along. Not entirely accurate, yet that's how it came across to many Americans. Whereas Kumo really _did_ pretend they wanted peace while secretly planning to kidnap Hinata. As always, any and all reviews/criticism are welcome.

Peace, Vaan.


	5. Chapter 5

Words-35523, Chapters-4, Reviews-63, Hits-8867, C2s-11, Fav-95, Alerts-116

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**AN:**

Here we go three updates in one day. Unfortunately, all three are unbeta'd. Anyway, this is an unbeta'd chapter, which I will replace with a proof read one as soon as I get it. As such, there may be things like small comments or notes in the story. This is because what I'm posting today is the exact same thing I sent my Betas. Please note, this chapter was put together on computer, my phone, and paper, then combined later on. So there may be places where it doesn't flow properly, though I tried to catch them all. If you find one, please let me know. Don't forget to check out my challenges. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. Without further ado, I give you chapter five of Naruto: The Reckoning

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

* * *

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Two years later…**

Deep within the great forests of Hi no Kuni, a form leapt quickly from tree to tree, intent on putting some distance between it and it's pursuers. It paused on a large branch, instantly going into a prone position before quickly, yet carefully sliding down around the side of the branch, using the absolute minimum amount of chakra to keep from falling.

Once hidden, a single blue eye cautiously peered over the top of the branch, searching for any signs of activity. There were three pursuers, one of whom had been bloodied by an improvised trap, yet he knew it wouldn't slow the man down for long.

For these weren't ordinary ninja. These were Anbu, and it was only a matter of time until they caught up with him. Running would only delay the inevitable, and risked him exhausting himself in the process.

No, he needed to fight, preferably before they had a chance to corner him. Releasing his grip on the tree, the blue-eyed ninja dropped silently into the foliage below, leaving no signs of his passing behind.

There was little time to prepare, so he was forced to make do with simple, improvised traps and tripwires. If he was extremely lucky, maybe he'd catch one of his pursuers. He was just hoping the traps would distract them long enough for him to take one out of the fight. After all, two on one odds were far better than three on one.

Without enough time to be thorough, he was forced to accept the makeshift traps as is, and moved into a small clearing, just big enough for his small form to rest in. Hoping for the best, he again utilized the smallest amount of chakra he could, and created a single, injured Bunshin with a roll of bandages half wrapped around an arm. The illusionary copy quickly settled against a tree before the real one cut his arm, saturating the ground and air with the sight and scent of blood respectively. Satisfied, he quickly wrapped his own arm, before retreating into the trees further downwind.

Hopefully, that would keep the ANBU from detecting him until it was too late, and the lay out of his traps would lend to the illusion that he was resting against that tree.

Tilting his head to the side, he picked up a slight rustling of leaves from upwind, alerting him to the arrival of his pursuers. Sniffing quietly, he was able to identify all three of them. _'Good, they're all here.' _he thought to himself as he attempted to narrow down there locations via hearing and smell.

Unfortunately, he could only pinpoint two of them, including the one who'd run afoul of his traps before. Cursing, he slowly made his way around the clearing, doing his best to remain downwind as he flanked them.

The first one he came upon was a Hebi masked man, who had avoided contact with him so far, seeming to prefer long range combat. Blue eyes darted from Hebi to the surroundings, trying to find any sign of the other two. He could still smell the blood of the first one, further upwind, seemingly attempting to make his way through the various traps, so he knew his general location, but the third still eluded him, and he was running out of time. If they realized that the Bunshin was just that, then he'd lose all elements of surprise.

Mentally cursing, he cautiously made his way closer to Hebi. Glancing around one last time, he committed himself and broke into a near silent sprint, channeling chakra to his legs and right arm as he approached.

Unfortunately, his near silent sprint wasn't quite silent enough as Hebi whipped around to face him as he got within four feet. The ANBU reached for his holster, only to be caught off guard when his target suddenly closed the distance with a burst of chakra enhanced speed.

Hebi instinctively brought his arms up to block the incoming punch, only to scream in pain as the chakra enhanced punch shattered his arm and sent him flying fifteen feet to slam into a tree.

The blue-eyed ninja attempted to close the distance, only to be forced away by a barrage of shuriken. Moments later, a Tori masked female landed in front of him, drawing her ninjato as she did so.

Cursing, he was forced to dive into a roll in order to avoid the horizontal slash that would have taken his scalp off. Coming up in a crouch, he sent a single kunai at her, running through a quick set of hand seals as soon as the blade left his hand. "Kunai Kage Bunshin," he muttered as a focus, turning the single kunai into a dozen.

The Kenjutsu user dodged most of the projectiles, and batted away the others with her sword. But he only wanted to distract her. As soon as the first jutsu was completed, he started on the next one, this time merely thinking _'Tsuchi Bunshin' _as his focus for the much easier jutsu.

A moment later, two copies of himself pulled themselves from the ground, one of which was decapitated almost immediately by Tori. The second however, drew a pair of kunai and dashed in close, engaging in a dance of parries and strikes with the masked woman.

Seconds later, the original entered the fray with a drop kick that left a sizeable crater in the ground. For what seemed like an eternity, clone and master circled, jabbed, slashed, and retreated, waiting for the mistake that would let them defeat the female ANBU. They took advantage of the difference in height to predict the ANBU's moves, as she was forced to swing downward to some degree each time.

Then, Tori seemed to stumble slightly on a rock, giving him the opportunity to lunge forward and bury both kunai into her, eliciting a gasp of pain, followed by a puff of smoke, revealing a log with an explosive note attached to it.

Cursing, he allowed his Tsuchi Bunshin to grab the log and Shunshin away. This of course, left him alone and out in the open, so he decided to risk a Shunshin as well, only to be clothes lined just before he arrived at his destination.

No sooner did he hit the ground than he rolled away to avoid the stomp that was sent at his head. Jumping to his feet, he was met by the third ANBU, the Tora masked man who had triggered his traps earlier.

Seconds later, Tori arrived as well, and the two took to circling him, using his own tactic against him. No longer concerned about remaining hidden, he flooded his system with chakra, using it to enhance his speed, reflexes, and strength, allowing him to keep up with his attackers, albeit temporarily.

Desperate for a respite, he tried using another jutsu, only to be forced to abandon it time and time again. Trapped between Tori's sword and Tora's fists, he quickly made the decision to close the distance between him and Tora, hoping that would force the woman to be more careful with her swings, lest she injure her teammate.

This seemed to work, giving him the chance to focus on Tora, who had apparently learned from Hebi's experience, and was careful to avoid blocking his blows, working to parry and dodge them instead.

Growling, he slammed his fist into the ground and pulled, yanking a five foot slab of earth up behind him, blocking out Tori's sight of him and forcing her to circle around. This was what he wanted, as he drew another pair of kunai and leapt over the makeshift barricade, coming down on Tori with blades poised to stab.

Tori reacted quickly enough to block the kunai with her sword, but that left him in the perfect position to kick out with a chakra enhanced leg, breaking ribs with a resounding crack and sending her flying back.

Grinning, he turned back to Tora, only for the man's fist to crash through the mound of earth and slam into his face with the force of an avalanche. Caught completely off guard, he was sent flying to the ground in a disoriented haze.

Before he could even think about recovering, Tora was on him, pounding away with fist after fist.

"That's enough." A powerful voice came from seemingly nowhere. Tora immediately stopped and pulled his dazed opponent up by his arm.

"Nicely done, Naruto-kun." the voice said as a group of two men and two women appeared from behind a Genjutsu. Blinking to clear the last of his dizziness away, Naruto quickly identified the people as his sensei, -Ebisu- the Godaime Hokage, -Danzo Shimura- Tsunade Senju, and her apprentice, Shizune.

"Of course, you really shouldn't have dropped your guard after bringing down Tori. And you didn't even attempt to use any Genjutsu outside of your Bunshin." Ebisu-sensei lectured as he and Tsunade approached, Shizune heading off with Tora to collect the other two ANBU.

"Still, I think you did quite well, Naruto-kun." Danzo spoke up as he came near. "You went up against three Chuunin level ANBU, and managed to evade them for over an hour, before setting up a decent ambush and incapacitating two of them. I feel you might be ready for your Chuunin promotion -with some more field experience of course."

Naruto tried not to beam at the praise the Hokage was giving him or the approving nod from Ebisu-sensei. But his newfound good mood was dashed somewhat as Tsunade began healing his injuries. "Next time you're up against odds like that, you run, understand Naruto-chan?" she whispered sternly.

"Oh, come on, Tsunade!" he objected. "I did great until that last part, and I'm sure I could have taken him if he hadn't sucker punched me!"

"Nonetheless, you didn't take him this time, and it only takes one loss to get you killed." Danzo added as he stopped beside them. "In that, Tsunade-hime is right. There is no shame in withdrawing when faced against superior opponents. Had this been a real life situation, you -and the village- would have been better served if you continued your retreat after taking down Hebi."

"Indeed," Ebisu-sensei said as he crouched down next to him to draw in the dirt. "Instead of staying to slug it out with Tori, you should have withdrawn 100 yards south to this ridgeline -which you should have remembered from your map." he illustrated in the dirt. "If you could make it that far, Tori and Tora would have been forced to back off, if only to retrieve Hebi. That might have been enough for you to get away entirely, or at the least it would have bought you time to prepare another ambush."

"But Sensei!" he objected strenuously. "How could I be sure that they wouldn't keep chasing me? Or that Tora wouldn't be waiting from me when I tried to disengage, like he did with my Shunshin? It was better that I try to take them down while I still had some element of surprise and my traps."

"That was a possibility, Naruto-kun, but one that could have been avoided, or at least reduced, if you had planned out a route away from this area. But you didn't. Instead, you focused on your attack single-mindedly, not even bothering to consider making a plan B." Ebisu-sensei explained. "And as for them continuing to chase you, remember, they had an injured teammate, who was more or less defenseless. Most teams that are close to each other will at least make the attempt to defend an injured comrade. And in this case, it was an ANBU team, meaning that they absolutely couldn't risk leaving Hebi behind, not without risking him being captured and forced to reveal important secrets. These are the kinds of things you must maintain awareness of, as they could save your life, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded in understanding, as now that he could look back on the situation, as well as his memories of the map, Ebisu-sensei's explanation was the better course of action.

Luckily, he had moved beyond his "thin skinned" phase, as his sensei called it, when he took offense to any such criticism to his plans or actions.

As his mind took him through the things he would have done had he followed Ebisu-sensei's explanation, he tensed a moment before a Taka masked ANBU appeared behind the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," the ANBU said as he knelt with one fist pressed to the earth in salute. Danzo-sama motioned to him, and the ANBU stepped close and whispered. "They've arrived."

"Very well." he replied before turning back to the group. "I'm afraid I have to leave now, Naruto-kun. I'm very pleased with your progress. Tsunade-hime, I trust you'll see to Tori and Hebi?" he asked.

When Tsunade nodded curtly, Danzo-sama vanished.

* * *

Danzo quickly made his way down a corridor deep with the Hokage Tower, contemplating his coming meeting. In the last two years, he had worked to slowly lower Kumo's guard and expectations, trying to buy time while simultaneously making it seem as if Konoha and Hi no Kuni didn't want, or couldn't afford a war. This had in turn, given Kumo hope that they could still get away with their outrageous demands.

He had also spent the time coordinating with his allies -secretly of course- and one other thing.

It had taken months of effort, and more than a few lives, for him to finally get in contact with Sanshouo Hanzo, and when he finally did, Danzo was not pleased.

He had known that there were signs of civil strife in Ame no Kuni, but he wasn't expecting a full blown civil war! One that had apparently been going on for several years now. Danzo frowned at that last part.

Such things didn't happen to Sanshouo Hanzo. Hanzo crushed anyone who opposed his rule. For these rebels to last this long, or in the numbers they were reputed to have, they'd have to be quite powerful.

But most importantly, this endangered his plans. The last two years had been spent dancing around with politics and diplomacy, with both sides of the war doing little beyond a few low key assassinations of minor nobles and spying.

In fact, the most warlike thing done by Kumo had been to dig in a few miles from the Shimo no Kuni border, nearly two years ago. At the time, Danzo knew that had been in preparation for an invasion. However, as the political machinations had continued for first weeks, then months, the Kumo nin stationed there had simply dug in, turning a temporary camp into an outpost, then into a staging point.

Now, with most of the Kaminari court calling it a "sitting war", most Kumo nin seemed to find a rotation on the frontlines to be a chore, almost as boring as Konoha nin found gate duty. Even better, the numbers and ability of the Kumo nin stationed there, while still significant, wasn't the overwhelming force one would expect if they thought conflict was a possibility. Something that Danzo was counting on.

In fact, according to Jiraiya's spies, Kumo had begun using deployments to the border as minor C rank missions to break in new Genin, who spent their time there doing manual labor for the most part.

And perhaps the most interesting bit of intelligence was the presence of one Yugito Nii, the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata. The eighteen year old kunoichi had spent most of the last two years in the encampment; standing by for an invasion that many on both sides were starting to believe would never come.

Which of course, is exactly what Danzo wanted.

But with the news from Ame no Kuni, his plans were in serious jeopardy. Which was why he had gone to all the trouble to arrange this meeting.

Walking into the room with Taka at his shoulder, Danzo observed the Ame Jounin that awaited him. He was a fairly nondescript man, dressed in the standard shinobi attire of Amegakure, with only two differences. One, he wore no breath mask like most of his comrades, and two, he wore the cape that signified him as one of Hanzo's personal bodyguards, his most trusted shinobi.

"Greetings, Ame-nin." Danzo greeted as he took a seat. "I apologize that I don't know your name."

"That is unnecessary, Hokage-sama." the Ame Jounin spoke stoically. "I am merely a courier." he explained as he stretched out his arm, depositing a small salamander on the table between them.

Taka tensed and moved to place himself between his Kage and the Ame-nin, but Danzo waved him off. A moment later, the salamander oriented itself on him and then opened its mouth impossibly wide, to the point that the Hokage hat could easily fit through the opening. Looking closer Danzo noticed a slight sheen of water, almost like a bubble that stretched between the creature's jaws.

A semi bright light passed across the bubble, and then Danzo was faced with the visage on Sanshouo Hanzo himself. "Danzo." the man greeted simply.

"My, that's quite the trick you have there, Hanzo-dono." he said in genuine interest. After all, the ability to communicate real time over large distances was incredibly rare.

"Don't waste my time with trivial nonsense, Danzo. What is it that you want?" Hanzo rasped out irritably.

'_Hmm…it looks like he hasn't been sleeping well. Interesting…' _he mused to himself before speaking. "Perhaps it would be best if our subordinates leave the room. Do you agree, Hanzo-dono?"

"Fine." his counterpart rasped.

"Taka, leave me." Danzo ordered.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Taka saluted before escorting the Ame Jounin from the room.

"So, you're the Hokage now?" Hanzo mused. "I suppose you expect me to call you "Hokage-sama" then?"

"That won't be necessary. Hokage-dono or even Danzo-dono would be more appropriate." he said politely. He had forgotten how much of a nuisance dealing with Hanzo could be.

"Fine then, Hokage-dono. What is that you want?" Hanzo demanded impatiently.

"Well, that depends on how much you know of what's been going on in the world." Danzo explained carefully.

"I know about your little war with Kumo, if that's what you mean." Hanzo snorted in amusement. "And if you want my help, I'm not interested in fighting your wars for you."

"That's not quite what I had in mind." Danzo countered. "In fact, I think you'd find my proposal quite enticing."

"I have my own wars to deal with Danzo. Find someone else." Hanzo grunted angrily.

"Even if I offer to help bring an end to those rebels who are troubling you so?" Danzo offered. "And do keep in mind; you never upheld your end of our last bargain."

"What are you talking about?" Hanzo's raspy voice questioned. "You're the Hokage aren't you?"

"Yes, but you didn't do anything to help me gain the title." Danzo pointed out solemnly.

Hanzo went silent at that. To those who had grown up during the old world, in that time period when Shinobi had yet to completely separate themselves from their Samurai ancestors, a man's word was incredibly important.

During that time, Shinobi lied, they cheated, and stole, they were little more than mercenaries. Yet when their word was given, they kept it.

Both Hanzo and he had been born in the early years of Hidden Village Era, yet many of the old customs were passed to them from their fathers, as had many of the elders of the Shinobi world. And each of them retained different parts of those traditions. For some, it was absolute loyalty to their lords, to others; it was a system of honor and shame. But for Danzo and Hanzo, it was their word.

Whatever they gave their word on, they bound themselves to. Oh, that's not to say that they couldn't get around it when they needed to. For instance, had Danzo tried to take Konoha by force, and Hanzo aided him, only to fail, then Hanzo could -and probably would- kill him immediately after.

After all, he only gave his word to help Danzo in his bid to become Hokage. He made no such promises of helping Danzo if he failed.

It was that which made Taki such an oddity in the Shinobi world. For an entire village to hold to the honor of their word in this day and age was unheard of.

"However, I'm willing to let that go if you hear me out." Danzo continued.

Hanzo glared at him for a minute then nodded his head in acceptance.

Steeping his fingers, Danzo focused his mind for the coming conversation. All his plans hinged on Hanzo at this moment. "I would like to request an alliance of sorts between our two villages," he began with what he knew Hanzo was expecting. "Along with the villages of Suna, Taki, and Kusa. I won't go into all the details now." he said before Hanzo could interrupt. "But rest assured it would be quite beneficial to you and to Ame no Kuni."

"You know that's not possible, Danzo." his Ame counterpart growled in his raspy voice. "I have my own problems to deal with, and you know it."

"Ah yes." he nodded in understanding. "Those rebels of yours. They must possess some powerful shinobi to be able to give you so much trouble."

"One." Hanzo spat.

Danzo blinked at that. "Excuse me?"

"It's just one man." Hanzo growled. "He calls himself Pein. He's the leader of the rebellion."

Danzo couldn't believe his ears. "One man? One man is giving you so much trouble? You?"

"He's not an ordinary man." Hanzo conceded. "In fact, he somehow possesses multiple bodies. I must have destroyed a dozen of them by now."

"I don't understand." Danzo admitted with a frown. "How can he possess multiple bodies?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I know which one is the real one. It's the only body that the others try their hardest to protect." the leader of Ame explained. "When he first appeared, he only had two bodies. I killed one, and the other fled. A week later, the survivor returned, this time with a new second body. I killed him too. The next time, there were three. Now, there are four."

"How do you know he's "possessing" these other bodies?" Danzo questioned. This just didn't make any sense.

"All of the bodies have had four things in common." Hanzo said slowly. "They all refer to themselves as Pein. They all have orange hair, they all have chakra conducting piercings, and they all have the same eyes." He stared Danzo in the eye before continuing. "One time, he possessed the dead body of one of my cousins. I know he was dead, because I buried him."

Danzo closed his eye in thought. That sounded like a very interesting, and very dangerous ability. Too dangerous to leave in the hands of a revolutionary like this Pein character. And Hanzo was vital to his plans for the war. He had to have the man, and his nation, on Konoha's side.

It was obvious that he needed to give the man aid, but the question was, who could he send? Including himself, there were only ten or so high level shinobi in Konoha that would make a difference to Hanzo. Obviously he couldn't go himself.

'_Sarutobi on the other hand, would probably be more than enough to get Hanzo's attention.' _Danzo thought suddenly. _'We'd also need someone who knew Ame well, and Jiraiya was the only one who qualified for that. Who else could I send?'_

Kakashi perhaps? After all, he was a rising star in Konoha's ranks. But who else- _"you might be ready for your Chuunin promotion -with some more field experience of course." 'Well…why not? He could use the experience, and there are sure to be a number of normal rebels he can deal with.' _Danzo mused. _'Of course, then I'd have to send Tsunade too, just to reassure her- not to mention to keep an eye on Naruto-kun.'_

Nodding, he opened his eye and addressed Hanzo again. "I'll send you an elite team to aid you in destroying this Pein fellow. In return, I ask that you agree to aid me, and come to Konoha one week after the deed is done to meet me in person."

Hanzo just snorted again. "I have no use for your ANBU and I have Jounin of my own. No deal."

Danzo smiled grimly. "I'm not offering you Jounin. I'm offering you legends. A team made up of two Sannin, plus two others, led by the Shinobi no Kami himself. They, and yourself, should be more than enough to bring down this Pein character." He paused to let the offer sink in, and then asked, "What say you, Hanzo-dono?"

Hanzo stared for a moment, and then bowed his head in thought. When he looked back up, his strange black eyes gleamed darkly. "How soon can you dispatch them?"

Danzo could barely restrain his grin.

* * *

"Absolutely not!" Tsunade spat angrily. How dare this bastard even suggest such a thing?

Surprisingly, Ebisu took her side in this particular argument. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, Naruto-kun isn't ready for a mission of this caliber. He needs more training, more time to grow, and more importantly, more experience."

"Exactly!" she agreed. "He's not going."

"I understand what you're saying, Ebisu." Danzo sighed. "But this is a perfect opportunity to gain that experience. And as much as I hate to say it, there's no time to lose. He's going."

"He's not!" Tsunade shouted angrily. "As his personal medic, I declare him unfit for this kind of mission."

"I'm afraid that doesn't matter, Tsunade-Hime." the old fossil said, causing her eyes to widen in outrage.

"You promised!" she hissed in fury. "You gave your word!"

He flinched ever so slightly at that before responding. "I said I'd take you under consideration. I also said within reason."

She opened her mouth -whether to curse or argue, she wasn't sure- only to be overridden.

"He needs this, Tsunade-Hime. He'll soon be called to the frontlines and we owe it to him to prepare him as much as possible." Danzo explained in what he probably thought was a reasonable tone.

"The war isn't going anywhere." she said softly. "It's been two years, if anything were going to come of this Kumo situation, then it would already have happened." She didn't want to accept the thought of her baby going off to war. Not now, not when he was still so young.

"Tsunade," Danzo said with more gentleness then she thought him capable of. "The war has stalled because Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and I have worked to make it so. The court of Kaminari believes we're just steps away from giving in to their demands, but they won't believe that forever. Soon, the fighting _will_ break out. Surely you can see it would be better if Naruto-kun made his first kill in a semi-controlled situation in a friendly nation?"

"There's nothing friendly about Ame no Kuni!" she objected. "Have you forgotten that monster Hanzo!? He's not like any of the other village leaders; he doesn't take orders from his Daimyo. Hanzo _is_ Ame no Kuni!" Was he insane! She couldn't believe he would actually suggest such a thing about Ame. Not when he was there, not when he saw the kind of place Hanzo ruled.

"Which is why this mission is so important." Danzo replied firmly. "Let me come out and say it, Tsunade. If we don't complete this mission, Hanzo won't support us. Without his support when the fighting starts, Iwagakure will certainly take advantage of our distraction. Then, our allies in Kusa and Taki will be forced to get involved, and Suna may or may not come in on our side. This mission is nothing more than the deciding factor between whether we fight a war with Kumo or if we fight beside our allies in the Fourth Great Shinobi War!"

As much as she hated to admit it, Tsunade was actually stunned into silence at that declaration. She had lived through more than one Great War, and she had no desire to see another one. But still, this wasn't about her, this was about her son.

Before she could come up with a counter argument, Ebisu -whom she had actually forgotten was there- spoke up. "If this mission is that important, then that's all the more reason to pick someone more experienced. If Naruto-kun must gain experience, let him do so through some lesser missions, or even by hunting Missing-nin! Forgive me Hokage-sama, but as his sensei I cannot allow Naruto to go on a mission so far beyond his abilities!"

Tsunade blinked in surprise. She had never really liked Ebisu, thinking that he was just another lackey of Danzo's. Of course, the fact that he often spent more time with Naruto than her certainly didn't help. But she had to say, he was definitely endearing himself to her now.

"Enough!" Danzo barked. "This is not a debate. Naruto-kun needs combat experience, and this is the best opportunity we have for it."

"Then at least allow me to go as well!" Ebisu pleaded somewhat desperately. But Tsunade knew the answer before Danzo even opened his mouth.

"No. The team for this mission has already been selected." the old Kage stated.

"Well I'm going regardless of what you say." she growled angrily as she stomped away to track down her son and make sure he was prepared. _'Maybe I could find a suit of armor that would fit him before we leave?' _she mused to herself before the old bastard's voice broke through her thoughts.

"That goes without saying of course." he called as she stopped in her tracks.

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously. Surely he couldn't have planned on this?

"I knew it would be pointless to try to keep you here, and I figured you'd be the best person to keep an eye on Naruto-kun anyway. Make sure you're both in the number five briefing room by 1500." he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Tsunade grit her teeth angrily, certain she could hear the smug grin in his voice when he said that!

* * *

Naruto was confused. Scratch that, he was downright dumbfounded. When Tsunade had found him in the middle of his weapons practice, the woman had been angry. Not only that, but she hadn't even tried to hide it.

Even more, instead of the furious, burning anger he was used to witnessing whenever she lost her temper; her anger had been a cold, almost palpable thing. As she had told him to pack away his things and follow her, Naruto was half certain that she intended to murder someone.

As she all but dragged him down the corridors, Naruto frowned at the almost painfully tight grip she kept on his arm, reminiscent of the time he fell from a tree during his Kinobori no Waza training.

He had only hit a few branches on his way down, and even then Tsunade had quickly caught him before he could fall more than ten feet or so. Yet she had refused to let him go for nearly twenty minutes afterward, even as she was yelling at Ebisu-sensei for "pushing him too hard".

When his subtle, and careful prodding into the cause of her anger was met with nothing other than a "Hush, Naruto-chan." he contented himself with the knowledge that whatever had her so upset, it wasn't something _he_ had done, and as such, he was in no danger.

Of course, he might be slightly biased in that regard, as he always felt…not better, as that implied that he was somehow displeased with his life, but…calmer? Happier? More relaxed? Naruto never could put that feeling into words, and beyond his own curiousness, had never felt the need to try, yet he always felt...something when he was with her.

So he simply enjoyed his "walk" with Tsunade, lengthening his strides to try to match her pace so she didn't have to drag him.

When they had finally reached their destination, Naruto was surprised to find a pair of ANBU guarding the door, as well as the fact that Tsunade came to an abrupt halt at the sight of them.

She had looked like she was about to attack them, only to draw a deep breath and turn around, kneeling in front of him as she did. "Naruto-chan," she said solemnly. "This briefing is very important, so pay close attention. Don't let your mind wander and don't be afraid to ask me questions." she had paused there as if struggling with herself, then simply said "Let's go."

Blinking, Naruto had nodded respectfully to the ANBU and followed Tsunade into the briefing room.

And that was where he found himself now, surrounded by some of the greatest legends Konohagakure had to offer. There was, of course, the Godaime Hokage, Danzo Shimura sitting at a table at the front of the room, reading a scroll -possibly the details of the briefing?

Directly behind the Hokage was a map that seemed to be focused on the northwestern border of Hi no Kuni, as well as the nations of Ame and Kusa no Kuni.

'_So, the mission involves Ame or Kusa…and it must be important for Danzo-sama himself to be giving the briefing…' _he thought vaguely as he stared in awe at the other legends in the room.

'_Holy shit, that's Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage! It's the Kami no Shinobi himself!' _he thought as he stared at the old man in awe. He was dressed in robes that marked him as a village elder, and was smoking from a pipe, smiling slightly with a kind look in his eyes with a hint of steel underneath the surface.

Next to him stood a grim looking Jiraiya of Sannin. Just looking at the man caused Naruto's awe drop sharply. While he knew the man was incredibly powerful in his own right, not to mention being one of, if not _the _best Fuuinjutsu user in Konoha, the two of them didn't have the best track record when it came to getting along.

This stemmed from some accusations the man had made years ago, which Naruto had taken quite personal, as well as the fact that the man was a self-proclaimed "super pervert" and he was constantly trying to sweet talk Tsunade and Shizune. And Naruto did not like that. Not. One. Bit.

Wanting to avoid dredging up the past just before such an important briefing, Naruto shook his head and turned to the final male in the room.

He was an apathetic looking man with spiky gray hair, dressed in ANBU armor, though he lacked the organization's trademark mask, replacing it with a cloth mask that covered everything below his eyes, and even one of them was covered by the man's slanted Hitae-ate.

And last -but certainly not least in his unbiased opinion- was Tsunade herself, sitting in the chair next to him, staring angrily straight ahead for the most part, yet occasionally sending glances at him that were filled with…fear? No, that couldn't be right. Tsunade was many things, but never afraid.

So what was it then? If it wasn't fear, then it must be worry, right? Only, what could she possibly be worrying about him for?

Granted, Tsunade often worried about him, stating that it was "her job" whenever Naruto asked.

Then it hit him like a sledgehammer. She didn't think he was qualified to be there. She thought he was too…too _weak_ to go on this mission whatever it was.

At first that made him angry. Then he took a glance at who else was going on the mission, and suddenly deflated. Considering who else was going, she was probably right. After all, he was on a team made up of some of the greatest legends Konoha had ever produced, whereas he and the other guy were just…wait a minute, who _was_ the other guy?

Heartened by the thought that he might not be the weakest person in the room, Naruto tugged on the sleeve of Tsunade's coat to get her attention. "Hey Tsunade," he said quietly when she turned to look down at him. "Who's the guy in the mask?"

She blinked, glanced over at the man in question and then answered, "Kakashi Hatake."

'_Oh…' _Naruto mentally wilted at that. The Copy-Nin, Kakashi Hatake, student of the Yondaime, Jounin at thirteen, war hero, and star of the ANBU Black Ops, not to mention being an ANBU Captain himself. _'Well, so much for not being the only non-legend in the room.' _he thought glumly as he released Tsunade and stared forward pensively.

Tsunade frowned at him, glanced back over at Kakashi -who was seated near Jiraiya and the Sandaime- then put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "It's ok, Naruto-chan," she said with a gentle smile. "I know you'll do just fine. I believe in you."

Naruto felt much better, both from the physical contact and her reassurances. He never understood how she could so easily pinpoint whatever happened to be troubling him, but in this one instance, he was glad for her usually annoying mind-reading ability.

"Let's get started." Danzo's voice suddenly called out, jarring him from his thoughts.

Sitting up straight, Naruto steeled himself for the coming briefing, as well as the mission that would follow. He would do what he was trained to do, what he was made to do. He would do his duty, and he would successfully perform the mission. Tsunade had said so.

* * *

Danzo made a show of studying the scroll in front on him, while subtly studying those in the room.

Sarutobi, as would be expected of a former Hokage, was calm and collected, patiently awaiting orders from his "superior". Danzo couldn't help but wonder which of them would win in a fight, what with him being stuck behind a desk for most of the last seven years.

Still, at least the old monkey was there, willing to partake in the mission that, technically speaking, he should be exempt from. And all it had cost Danzo was the life of one traitor.

* * *

**Flashback**

"Hokage-sama?" his secretary's voice called from outside his office.

"Enter." Danzo called as he rolled up the scroll he had been writing in. Glancing up when she entered, Danzo nodded in for her to speak.

"Sandaime-sama is requesting to speak with you." she informed him. "Should I ask him to come by later?"

Blinking his one good eye, Danzo glanced in surprise at the scroll he had been working on. The scroll was a summons to the very man waiting outside his office. _'Could he have…no…I'm certain there was no one other than Taka and myself who was close enough to spy on the meeting with Hanzo…unless _Taka_ was the one…' _Danzo mentally frowned. Taka was one of the admittedly many ANBU who was both not a member of ROOT, and had served under Sarutobi.

And Danzo wasn't stupid enough to believe that Sarutobi didn't still command the loyalty of many of the ANBU. After all, Danzo himself had possessed more than a few official ANBU in his service over the last forty to fifty years.

The question was, which ones were still working for Sarutobi?

All of this passed through his head in the instant it took him to glance at the scroll and look back to his secretary. "Send him in, please. Also, I'd appreciate some tea if it's not too much trouble."

"Of course, Hokage-sama." she replied with a bow before asking, "Is there any particular flavor you'd like?"

He paused for only a moment before deciding to focus on the coming meeting. "Surprise me." he answered as he put away some of the more sensitive documents on his desk.

Moments later, a grim-faced Sarutobi took a seat, a scroll clutched in his own hand, and a slightly triumphant look slipping through his grim mask.

"Sarutobi," Danzo greeted as his secretary placed the tea on his desk and left them alone. "I was just about to summon you."

He wouldn't have seen the brief look of surprise cross his predecessor's face if he hadn't been looking for it, and that helped to ease Danzo's paranoia slightly.

"What fortunate timing then." Sarutobi said with a hint of smugness. "If it's all the same to you, my business will only take a moment. After all, I'm just here to inform you as to Anko-chan's fate."

Blinking in surprise, Danzo frowned at his old rival's words.

Anko Mitarashi, missing-nin and apprentice to Orochimaru, had been discovered by an ANBU team on a mission in Umi no Kuni nearly a year ago. The Chuunin had disappeared along with Orochimaru when he defected seven years ago, and had been entered into the Bingo book as an A rank missing-nin, wanted dead or alive.

Not that she had been a particularly powerful ninja at the time of her defection, having only been a rookie Chuunin at the time. Still, she was Orochimaru's apprentice, fanatically loyal to the man, and she showed signs of being able to go far under Konoha's standards, not to mention what she could do with any of the Kinjutsu Orochimaru possessed.

So imagine his surprise when one of his ANBU teams brought her in, weak and shivering like a new born puppy, and professing to have no knowledge of what she was doing in Umi no Kuni, and only bits and pieces of her time with Orochimaru following his defection.

Unfortunately, her claims of amnesia proved true, when no one, not Inoichi Yamanaka himself, nor Tsunade using the latest Ijutsu, could restore the girl's memories. What little they could get from the girl was either unhelpful, or downright disturbing.

Anko claimed that she hadn't intended to defect, that she was told by Orochimaru that they had a mission that would take them from the village for some time. She of course, had believed the man and left with him, supposedly unaware of his crimes beneath the streets of Konoha.

What she could tell them of Orochimaru's activities were both disturbing, and were limited to Umi no Kuni. According to her, Orochimaru had left the country frequently, rarely telling her where he was going or what he was doing, though often reassuring her that the Hokage had authorized what they were doing.

Namely, the human experimentation that he performed, sometimes with her help.

But perhaps the most interesting piece of information was the Juinjutsu Orochimaru had placed on her neck. According to the girl, Orochimaru had placed the "Ten no Juin" on her and nine others as part of some experiment. She also claimed to be the only one to survive the process. When prodded on what the "Curse Mark" actually did, the girl professed not to know, though agonizing pain seemed to be a side effect.

Tests conducted by himself, Sarutobi, and Jiraiya revealed little of the Ten no Juin's design or purpose, but they did discover that it seemed to be defective in some way, and possessed plenty of side effects. The girl's ability to control her chakra was reduced to almost nothing, as any attempt to channel it caused her crippling pain. It seemed possible that she could eventually regain her abilities through intense, trial and error training, but it was obvious that she would never be able to reach Jounin level.

Perhaps the oddest thing to hear was why she wasn't with Orochimaru any longer. The girl claimed that the Snake Sannin had abandoned her after she survived his experiment, stating that she "lacked the drive for power". Whatever that was supposed to mean.

Not that any of it mattered as, considering her crimes, Danzo had every intention to have her executed once they were sure she couldn't tell them anymore. After all, even if she was telling them the truth, the girl was dangerous, -"tainted" as some of the more zealous villagers put it- by her time spent with Orochimaru.

And while Danzo wouldn't use such fanatical terms, the possibility of her being a spy or sleeper agent for the Snake Sannin was there. And despite the very real possibility that the girl didn't know the man's crimes, she had still betrayed the village, intentionally or not. Besides, who knew what could have happened in those four years she was gone? Could anyone really say that it wasn't possible for her to have been swayed to Orochimaru's way of thinking?

However, Sarutobi had taken pity on the girl, no doubt feeling some measure of guilt over his student's crimes, as well as the fact that he was responsible for handing the girl over to the rogue Sannin. He had asked for clemency, and for the chance for Anko to prove her loyalty.

Danzo refused naturally, and Sarutobi hadn't taken that lying down. For the first time since he became Hokage, Danzo felt the full force of Sarutobi's political power. He was shocked to say the least. The man had far more support than Danzo gave him credit for, especially after being "retired" for seven years. In fact, it appeared that Danzo had actually helped the man by putting him in charge of maintaining the various alliances that Konoha possessed. And while Sarutobi didn't have enough sway to get the girl released, he did have enough to get the girl placed under house arrest and observation for the one year.

A ploy that Danzo was forced to accept in order to gather his own influence, and that Sarutobi no doubt put forward to buy himself time.

"Oh really?" he asked skeptically. "And just what fate would that be?"

"I, Hiruzen of the Sarutobi clan, have decided to invoke the right of the Doom of Tobirama on behalf of Anko Mitarashi." the balding man declared formally as he placed the scroll on Danzo's desk.

Danzo for his part blinked in confusion, before unrolling the scroll, trying to remember why that right sounded so familiar. After reading the scroll, he raised an eyebrow at Sarutobi in surprise.

It was a very old law, dating back to the Shodai's time, when the creation of the Forbidden Scroll of Seals first came about. Naturally, there were those who either rejected the Hokage's right to label and restrict Kinjutsu, and occasionally there were those who didn't know they were practicing a forbidden art. Considering that the punishment for using a Kinjutsu was death, this caused quite a problem.

The Doom of Tobirama, as the law eventually came to be called, gave other shinobi -usually a family member- the right to step in and place the perpetrator on a sort of parole or suspended sentence.

They'd be watched closely, but as long as they never used a Kinjutsu they'd be left more or less alone. If they did ever use a Kinjutsu however, they and their benefactor would be executed immediately, no trial, no appeals.

As time went on, particularly before and during the First Great Shinobi War, the law was adapted to include former members of enemy villages and clans, and expanded to include all of the laws of Konoha, rather than just Kinjutsu, allowing them to be recruited into the village while reducing the general suspicion of the village.

Finally, in the years after the First Great War, it was adapted once more to include the entirety of Konoha and its laws.

Danzo frowned as he finally remembered all of the details involved. But that law hadn't been invoked since just prior to the Second Great Shinobi War, so it was no surprise that he had forgotten about it.

Still, he kept his surprise under control long enough to retort. "So, you wish to take responsibility for the Snake's apprentice? And why should I allow that?"

"You don't have a choice." Sarutobi said grimly. "It is my right, and we both know I have the power to make it so."

Danzo didn't bother to point out that he could have Anko killed before Sarutobi could "make it so". They both already knew that. No, the question was, did Danzo want to allow this?

On the one hand, if Anko did prove to be a threat, then the blame for her actions would fall on Sarutobi, crippling his political power. On the other hand, if Anko proved to be a threat, Sarutobi would die with her. That wasn't something he wanted, regardless of how much trouble the man might cause him.

The Kami no Shinobi was a powerful asset, even in retirement. Losing him to something like the Doom would be a serious blow to Konoha's image and ability to project strength. Particularly when the war with Kumo could escalate any day.

Mind racing, Danzo considered all the possible benefits and dangers, and then mentally nodded. "Very well Sarutobi. I'll allow you to take Anko under your wing. But there are conditions."

"I assumed there would be." Sarutobi shrugged. "What do you want in exchange?"

"Firstly, I want any and all updates on her progress, as well as anything that happens with the Ten no Juin. Obviously she'll be watched closely by the ANBU. Finally, I have a mission that requires your presence. If I let you do this, you'll go through with this mission, despite any misgivings you might have." Danzo explained quickly and succinctly. "Agreed?"

To his credit, Sarutobi only hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Agreed."

* * *

**Flashback Ends**

No, it hadn't cost him much at all, and if Anko did turn out to be a traitor, Sarutobi would deal with her personally. Probably. After all, Sarutobi had no love for traitors, and Orochimaru was the exception.

And if Anko were to die by Sarutobi's hand…well…Danzo could probably find some legal excuse to avoid killing him.

Or make one. He was the Hokage after all.

Turning his attention to the one most likely to cause problems on this particular mission, Danzo observed Jiraiya. Learning of the man's activities in Ame no Kuni had been disturbing to say the least, but the man's assertion that his former students were dead, lessened his worries somewhat. Though he wished the man would have had the foresight to bring the Rinnegan user back, at least the Sannin hadn't taught them any of Konoha's Hijutsu. That could have been disastrous.

Mentally shaking his head at the Toad Sannin, Danzo let his gaze slide past Kakashi and Tsunade, both of whom were quite easy to convince to take part, and settled on the one that he was concerned most about.

Young Naruto was Konoha's ace in the hole, the one who maintained balance between the greater villages just through his existence. Konoha's only Jinchuuriki, Naruto had taken the revelation surprisingly well.

* * *

**Flashback, two years ago…**

"Naruto-kun, Tsunade-Hime, please, have a seat." Danzo requested calmly. As the two did so, he studied their faces. Naruto didn't know what they had been summoned for, and his confusion, while hidden well for one his age, was visible to Danzo's eye.

Tsunade on the other hand, was much more difficult to read, yet he could guess how she must be feeling. After all, it's not every day that a mother has to explain to her son -even if he doesn't know that- that the most powerful Bijuu was sealed inside him on the day he was born.

"Naruto-kun," Danzo continued once they were seated. "What I'm about to tell you is extremely important. I want you to promise me that you'll listen to the entire explanation before you make any judgments. Can you do that?"

To his credit, the boy in question blinked in confusion only once, before nodding his head and focusing all of his attention on him.

Glancing at Tsunade, Danzo met her eyes and easily read the message in them. _"Don't you dare fuck this up, or I'll kill you"_.

"Well Naruto-kun," he began carefully. "What I'm about to tell you is an S rank secret. As such, you are not allowed to discuss it with anyone who doesn't already know. Do you understand?"

"Hai Hokage-sama." Naruto nodded sharply.

"Very well," Danzo continued. "As you know, seven years ago, on October Seventh, the village was attacked by the Kyuubi no Kitsune. We don't know why, but that's a conversation for another time." He paused there for a moment, wondering once again whether this was a good idea or not. Something like this could be devastating to a small child, and despite how much he might deny it in public, Naruto _was_ a small child. Should he really force the boy to try to deal with the shock of his "condition" added on top of trying to increase his control over the Kyuubi's chakra?

Balancing all that he knew about the world's current situation, it certainly seemed to be better to go through with it. But he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, just this one time he should choose what's best for the individual over what was best for the village.

He always tried to find the solution that would benefit both, and Danzo could never truly forgive himself for the times when he failed, and he sacrificed the one. Many of those times, it had turned out the best for the village. But rarely had it turned out even remotely well for the poor soul who got sacrificed.

Would it be better to spare Naruto this burden? It wouldn't necessarily cause harm to the village, and the boy would still be a powerful asset.

But Danzo knew he couldn't do that. He had never been able to not put the village first, not even when he desperately wanted to. And no matter how fond he was of Naruto, he knew he couldn't do it this time either.

The boy wasn't like a surrogate grandson or anything like that, but he had to admit, he genuinely admired the small blond. No matter how hard he was pushed, nor how much of his innocence was stripped away by his training, the boy never once considered refusing. He had far too much heart for that. If anything, Danzo worried that there wasn't anything the boy _wouldn't_ do for those things he held dear.

'_He can take it.' _Danzo reassured himself. Who knows, maybe this would all turn out for the best for both Naruto and for the village.

Steeling himself, Danzo pressed on. "What is important is how the Yondaime was able to stop the Kyuubi. He did this by sacrificing his life to seal away the beast inside a newborn child. That child became what is called a Jinchuuriki." He paused there for a moment to explain the purpose of Jinchuuriki. "There can only ever be nine Jinchuuriki in existence at any given time. They are considered to be invaluable weapons during war, and during peace they act as a powerful deterrent against aggression. In fact, the current balance of power depends heavily on them." Danzo paused again as the boy took in the information, but it seemed he hadn't quite made the connection yet. "That child, Naruto-kun, was you."

To his credit, Naruto's only outward reactions were a single blink, followed by a widening of the eyes and a slight increase in his breathing. Yet beyond that, his facial expressions and body posture remained the same. Very good for a five year old.

"Now, I imagine you have some questions, and I'll do my best to answer them." Danzo promised.

Danzo watched as Naruto closed his eyes, no doubt trying to arrange his thoughts into something more manageable. A bad habit to have on the battlefield, but he could let it slide this time.

"The markings," Naruto began slowly. "That cover my body…are they a part of the seal?"

Danzo shook his head. "No, they're a part of a different seal matrix all together. One that I put on you." He saw the look of confusion in the boy's eyes -as well as the one of loathing in his mother's- and hurried to continue. "It's a security measure only, a precaution in case you ever lose control. You must understand, Naruto-kun" Rubbing at the bridge of his nose, he sighed tiredly. "The sheer damage and terror that is unleashed when a Jinchuuriki goes on a rampage. It's catastrophic. The seal that covers your body is the one of the only reliable methods we have to stop such rampage without killing the Jinchuuriki. Do you understand?"

Naruto was silent for a full minute, and Danzo let him think. It was important that Naruto come to terms with this on his own, that he accept the seal for what it was. If they had to convince him of it, the boy would always hold that seed of doubt and mistrust, and that was unacceptable.

Still, he couldn't deny that he was somewhat worried. They really couldn't afford for Naruto to take this badly. Both for his own sense of self-worth, and for the importance he played to Konoha and Hi no Kuni.

Finally, Naruto nodded. "Yeah…I can't say that I understand the risks since I've never even heard of Jinchuuriki before today but…you are the Hokage, so I'm sure you're more experienced in these things then I could ever be…so I guess I can understand why you put these mar-er, seals on me."

Danzo mentally sighed in relief. That went better than he had expected, almost as well as he had hoped. Of course, Tsunade's reassuring hand rubbing on Naruto's back probably helped, especially with the calming effect Tsunade always had on the younger Senju. Not that Naruto knew that piece of information.

"I'm glad you understand, Naruto-kun." Danzo said with a smile. "Is there anything else you want to know?"

Naruto glanced from him to Tsunade and back before asking "Why me?"

Danzo didn't bother to hold in the sigh this time. "Honestly? We don't know Naruto-kun. The Yondaime could have used almost anyone as the Jinchuuriki, even himself if he hadn't resorted to the Shiki Fuujin. I didn't even know he had chosen you until after he was dead and the Kyuubi sealed."

Naruto tried to hide it, but he was hundred years too young to be able to fool him. Danzo easily picked up on the boy's disappointment at the answer to his question. Leaning forward, Danzo placed a hand of his own on the young Jinchuuriki's shoulder.

"I might not know _why_ he chose you, Naruto-kun," he said as gently as he could, squeezing his shoulder lightly as he could. "But I do know that the Yondaime wouldn't have picked you at random, that he _had_ a _reason _why he chose you over everyone else. And just like he believed in you, so too do I."

He could almost feel the boy's feelings of pride and gratitude at the acknowledgement and statement of faith. Now, there was just one more question the boy should arrive at. The clues were all there, Naruto just had to piece them together.

Almost as if he could hear his thoughts, Naruto frowned. "But, you must have a reason why you're telling me now, Hokage-sama."

'_Good boy.' _Danzo thought. It was good to see that the boy could connect details and predict where things should be going when given the small clues.

"You're right of course." Danzo nodded amicably. "The reason we're telling you now is because you're going to start training with the Kyuubi's chakra in one week."

"And you want me to get used to the knowledge of my…condition…so it doesn't affect my concentration during what's sure to be dangerous training." Naruto finished.

Both Danzo and Tsunade were pleased, and surprised respectively at the boy's professionalism and quick thinking.

Nodding, Danzo spoke with Naruto for another twenty minutes before sending the young boy on his way. Once he had left, Tsunade remained behind long enough to quietly promise. "If anything happens to him because of this training with the Kyuubi's chakra, I'll kill you."

As she walked out the door, Danzo couldn't help but think how much he preferred her angry, raging threats to that coldly quiet one.

Less than two weeks later, Danzo was reading a report disbelievingly. Saying that Naruto's progress on controlling the Kyuubi was going well would be like saying Sarutobi was a decent ninja.

Naruto had blown away everyone's expectations. Not only did he learn how to draw out the demon's chakra, he did it in only five days! But that wasn't all. The boy was already able to draw out and control an entire "tail's" worth of the Bijuu's chakra and he showed no signs of struggling with it. And that was only in two weeks!

Obviously, Danzo, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were shocked, wondering how such a thing was possible. He and Jiraiya had spent hours pouring over Naruto's seal, checking to see if it had somehow weakened over the years without anyone noticing.

But it was fine. In fact, it might as well have been put on Naruto just yesterday for all the wear and tear it had.

It was Tsunade who came up with a possible answer. An answer that had Danzo slamming his head against his desk, figuratively speaking. She believed, and had even found some evidence supporting, that Naruto had inherited some specific genetic traits from the Shodai, Hashirama Senju.

No one was certain what it was that gave the Shodai his Mokuton, or his ability to suppress and control Bijuu. The man had been quite secretive about his abilities, like most clans and bloodline users. So there wasn't much on record about it.

In fact, most of what they did know came from examinations performed on an ANBU named Tenzo.

Tenzo had the unfortunate luck of being one of Orochimaru's many test subjects. He also happened to be one of the few survivors who walked away with something more than scars and nightmares.

Tenzo's particular case involved Orochimaru trying to splice the DNA of the Shodai into sixty infants. And Tenzo happened to be the only one who survived the process, gaining a weaker, watered down version of the Shodai's Mokuton and Bijuu suppression abilities mixed into his own DNA sequence.

So while they hadn't learned much about how they worked, they _did_ get enough to be able to match it to pieces of DNA in both Tsunade, and Naruto. More so in Naruto than in Tsunade.

And while Naruto hadn't shown any signs of being able to use the Mokuton, the suppression ability could be the reason for Naruto's uncanny ease working with the Kyuubi's chakra, and would also explain the less than expected interference from the Bijuu when it came to his chakra control.

Added to that, was Tsunade's gloating look when she showed him the reports, supporting her theory, as well as her belief that a sudden manifestation of the Mokuton would be undeniable proof as to Naruto's heritage. That would bypass the whole "amnesia" thing, which of course, suited her just fine.

And perhaps worst of all, Fuu had confirmed that it was _possible_ that something _more_ than just memories had been locked away when he used his jutsu on the boy. Something that might be crucial to unlocking a bloodline. And there wasn't a damned thing they could do about it.

As important as the Mokuton could be, the best option for bringing it out would be to send Fuu back into Naruto's mind to try and bring out the missing pieces, without unlocking the boy's memories.

A difficult and dangerous prospect to say the least.

Sighing, he signed the forms to have some more tests run.

* * *

**Flashback Ends**

Yes, Naruto had come far since those days, extending his control over the Kyuubi to the point where he could control three tail's worth of chakra. Unfortunately, with the declarations of war between Konoha and Kumo, they had to cut back on that training in order to increase Naruto's battle capacity.

In fact, the only thing he was lacking was real-life combat experience. Which was why he was going on this mission. After all, it wasn't like he had a rebellion of his own that he could unleash the boy on. So this was the best he could do for him.

Deciding he'd waited long enough, Danzo decided to start the meeting.

"Let's get started." Danzo called out as he closed the scroll in front of him.

* * *

**Translations:**

Hebi=Snake

Tori=Bird

Tora=Tiger

Taka=Hawk

Kunai Kage Bunshin=Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu. An A rank jutsu.

Tsuchi Bunshin=Earth Clone. I couldn't find any official ranking for this one, so we'll call it a C rank, based on the other clone techniques.

Umi no Kuni=Land of Sea

Sanshouo Hanzo=Salamander Hanzo

Kinobori no Waza=Act of Tree Climbing

Ten no Juin=Cursed Seal of Heaven

* * *

**AN:** Not much this time around. Some of you may have picked up on the Dresden Files reference. I obviously adapted the idea to fit the Naruto universe, but I left the name as is because I honestly couldn't think of a better name. Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated. As always, any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc. are welcome.

Peace, Vaan.


	6. Chapter 6

Words-47383, Chapters-5, Reviews-78, Hits-15335, C2s-17, Fav-145, Alerts-156

* * *

Well, I'm still alive. I apologize for the long wait, and that this chapter is still unbeta'd. Though in my defense, I've been trying to update this thing for about ten days now. Please note, this chapter was put together on computer, my phone, and paper, then combined later on. So there may be places where it doesn't flow properly, though I tried to catch them all. If you find one, please let me know. I've actually been sitting on this chapter mostly done for a couple of months. It's only been in the last two days that I sat down and made myself finish it. The fact that I'm five chapters and a prologue into a new story that's really got me writing like crazy right now helped motivate me. Speaking of which, I'm looking for someone to bounce ideas off or for this newest idea.

Don't forget to check out my challenges. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. All reviews/criticism is welcomed. If you see spelling/grammar mistakes, or if I forgot to put something in the translations, please let me know. Without further ado, I give you chapter six of Naruto: The Reckoning

* * *

This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Naruto panted as the weather grew steadily more humid. With each step, he and his companions drew closer to their destination. Amegakure no Sato.

Their briefing had been surprisingly simple. They were to go with an unnamed Ame Jounin and journey to Amegakure. Once there, they were to help Sanshouo Hanzo himself, in putting down a rebellion. Well, to be more accurate, Hanzo, Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were supposed to kill this "Pein" guy, while he and Kakashi were supposed to deal with the lower ranked rebels.

According to Danzo-sama, this was so he could gain experience. But Naruto knew that Kakashi's job was to watch over him. This realization served to depress him whenever he thought about it. He knew he wasn't as strong as he should be, especially when they were at war, yet the fact that Danzo-sama thought he needed a babysitter seemed a little much.

Shaking his head, Naruto scolded himself for allowing his own feelings of inadequacy to distract him from the mission. Danzo-sama had been very clear on just how important this mission would be for Konoha, and as a ninja, it was his duty to see that it was successfully completed.

"Are you alright, Naruto-chan?" Tsunade suddenly asked from beside him, breaking him from his thoughts.

Looking up at her, Naruto smiled in what he hoped would be taken as reassurance. "Of course I am, Tsunade! After all, this is my first mission and it's a really important one too." He said with as much pride as he could muster.

Tsunade stared at him for a moment before moving closer so they were jumping through the trees together. "You know, this isn't really your mission." she said carefully. "We just thought it would be a good experience for you. You can leave completing the mission up to Sensei, Jiraiya, and me."

Naruto tried to hide how much those words hurt, after all, he was a Jinchuuriki. He was born for things like this, and being told that he wasn't good enough, by Tsunade of all people, hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced. He was drawn from his depression when he felt a hand affectionately run through his hair. Looking up, he saw Tsunade smiling down at him. "Of course, it's also important that we make sure the rebels are defeated for good. So I think it would be best if you help me with them, while Kakashi goes with Sensei and Jiraiya. What do you say; do you want to come help me?"

In an instant he felt his mood shift from borderline depression to ecstatic. "You can count on me!" he promised fiercely.

* * *

Tsunade frowned discreetly as she manipulated her own son. She didn't want to encourage him into thinking that everything was as it should be in the world. Hell, she didn't even want him to think she condoned his presence on this mission. And she most certainly didn't want him thinking fighting the Ame rebels was "cool" or some other such nonsense. But Naruto was her son, and she'd be damned if she let him fall into a depression.

So Tsunade once again found herself doing something she would hate herself for. All for her son. She allowed herself to briefly imagine what could have been, if only the Kyuubi had never attacked.

She and Minato would have raised Naruto to be a kind, considerate boy, who refused to take shit from anyone. He would have grown up loved and adored, never doubting his place in her heart, nor in the world. He would have joined the Academy at age six, just like any normal child, and he would have waited until twelve to graduate, also like any normal child.

Then, he would learn from Sarutobi, until he was old enough to realize that he would rather work in the hospital with his mother, and would leave the dangerous part of being a ninja to his father and the others.

After that, he would find a beautiful wife -though obviously she'd have to be someone Tsunade approved of- then he'd give his mother an entire brood of grandchildren to spoil rotten.

Grandchildren who would follow in their father's footsteps and choose a safe career as healers rather than fighters. Then all would be right with the world.

Instead, he had been forced into the world of shinobi before he was even old enough to understand the word, stripped of his heritage and childhood. Pushed to become a weapon rather than a person, to learn how to kill before he had even learned how to make friends or how to properly dress himself.

'_I swear I'm going to kill you, Danzo.' _Tsunade promised with a silent growl.

Scowling to herself, she scanned the surroundings for any sign of the rebels or Hanzo's shinobi. She wasn't entirely sure which would be worse.

Her previous visit to Ame no Kuni had been a bloody, miserable affair, full of desperate battles with terrified samurai and fanatical shinobi. The source of both the terror and the fanaticism was not the invading Konoha shinobi, nor from the knowledge that their once great nation was on the verge of collapsing under the assaults of three of the Great Nations. It was _him_.

Sanshouo Hanzo, considered by many to be the greatest Shinobi to ever live. The man who spat in the face of tradition and propriety when he seized control of an entire nation from its Daimyo, and then led it on brutal campaign of conquest and expansion that allowed it to go from being an almost insignificant nation to being one of the greatest.

Even when it was obvious that they couldn't win, the very mention of his name drove the Ame shinobi and samurai to fight harder, to choose death over surrender or retreat. And then, when it finally seemed that the forces led by her, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru were making headway, that victory might indeed be possible, _he_ appeared.

Tsunade couldn't hold back the shiver that ran through her as she remembered that day.

The man had appeared before them, alone, with not a sign of emotion in his posture as he stared over their strike force. Dressed in an Ame Jounin uniform with a rebreather that covered his entire head and left only a portion of his face exposed, the rain and wind ripping at his long blond hair and the gray cape he wore, he stood there. For what seemed an eternity, he just stood there as she and her teammates demanded Ame no Kuni's surrender, demanded _his_ surrender. He stood there, unspeaking, gazing over their army, as if judging them, weighing their worth and strength the way a man would judge a kunai or some other weapon.

She didn't know why she said what she did next. No, that wasn't true. Tsunade knew exactly why she said it. She had said it because she was tired, tired of being cold, tired of being hungry, tired of the fighting, tired of the death. But most of all, she was tired of the entire, miserable country of Ame no Kuni, with its delusion of greatness, tired of slaughtering the fools who refused to accept the inevitable, tired of being pestered by orphan children, tired of offering healing to the enemy wounded just to have her kindness spat in her face.

She had just wanted to go home.

So, thinking Hanzo was just showing the same, stubborn pride the rest of his people had done, Tsunade had spat out harshly, "This isn't a negotiation, Hanzo! Surrender your pathetic nation while some part of it still lives!" How she regretted opening her mouth.

Hanzo had looked her straight in the eyes, those cold, impossibly black eyes shining, and then rasped out, "You're right. This isn't a negotiation. I don't negotiate with the dead."

And then he had finally moved. Tsunade couldn't say how long the battle lasted, nor could Jiraiya whenever she asked, and Orochimaru refused to speak of it. But she remembered the surprise she felt as Hanzo moved through their ranks, killing effortlessly, before her rage had come as her teammates and she charged him. Then the rage had been replaced by horror. The terror as he brushed their forces aside as if they were mere children, the fear as her every attempt to heal one of the injured was ended by Hanzo appearing before her, killing whatever poor soul she was trying to save, then leaving.

When she realized her best chance to save those still alive was to fight rather than heal, she joined Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and together, Team Sarutobi attempted to drive the Ame ruler back. They failed.

It didn't matter what Ninjutsu or Genjutsu they had used, or how much strength she put behind her blows, Hanzo held them off with an ease that even Sarutobi had never been able to. All the while, he had continued to kill those with them, choosing for some reason to never strike a killing blow against her teammates, or herself, even as he chased those who tried to break contact and snuffed out their lives with ease.

When there was no one but Team Sarutobi and the wounded left, Hanzo had begun finishing off the helpless Konoha wounded, forcing Tsunade and her friends to summon their greatest allies to try to stop him.

Gamabunta had whined about being summoned away from his sake, Manda had laughed in his hissing way at Orochimaru for "needing me to save you again?" while berating the Toad Boss for being such a drunk. Only Katsuya had seemed to grasp that the situation was worse than they believed.

Hanzo had gazed at them nonchalantly before summoning his own ally. Tsunade never found out for sure if the salamander Hanzo summoned was a boss summon or not, though a part of her feared that even in a summons battle Hanzo hadn't seen the need to bring his full might to bear.

The battle between the summons had gone much the way the previous battle had, with Hanzo and his salamander easily defeating them. Gamabunta had been the first to be defeated, forcefully dispersed when Hanzo called forth a massive Suiryuudan from the seemingly ever present rain to slash at his face, nearly taking an eye and leaving what would become a permanent scar. Despite her caution, Katsuya was next to go, nearly boiled alive by Hanzo's summon when it burst out a flaming tongue that wrapped around the giant slug almost before she was aware it was happening. Manda had managed to last the longest, and as such had received the most damage of all. His pride had refused to allow him to retreat, and so he had fought on long after any other summon would have dispersed themselves, until he lay all but dead, still refusing to return to the Summon realm where he could recover.

Orochimaru, in an increasingly rarer act of compassion, had forced Manda to return to his own realm against his will. Ironically, it was this that had driven the wedge between Boss Summon and his only summoner. Manda had railed against Orochimaru angrily; spitting threats and promises of retribution if he dared send him from the battle. The next time Orochimaru had attempted to summon him, Manda had refused to come, instead sending one of his lesser brethren to inform Orochimaru of the new price Orochimaru would have to pay for summoning him. One hundred live human sacrifices.

The great snake had likely chosen the price knowing that Orochimaru was unwilling to pay it –at least at the time- as a way to tell him that he was angry and didn't want to see him, at least until Manda had managed to regain his pride.

Perhaps the two would have reconciled later on, but by the time Manda might have gotten over his "humiliation", Orochimaru had already begun his path to betraying the village.

Following their summons' defeat, Tsunade had all but accepted death. Every shinobi who had been with them that day was dead, their greatest summons had been defeated, Jiraiya couldn't even stand on his own, much less fight and Orochimaru had expended most of his remaining chakra by forcing Manda to leave. Tsunade had been the only one left with the ability to continue fighting, and she had known she didn't stand a chance.

And Hanzo? Hanzo had just stood there on top of his salamander summon, gazing down at them dispassionately, not even breathing hard, despite all he had done up to that point. When he finally spoke, Tsunade had been shocked that it wasn't the name of a jutsu that came from his lips, but a congratulations of sorts. "I see Hiruzen Sarutobi trained his students well. You three will no doubt one day become powerful in your own rights, maybe even nigh unstoppable together. Go back to your sensei, and tell him that the war between us is over. Tell him that I know even I wouldn't be able to defeat Konoha right now and that eventually, Konohagakure would win. Do this, and one other thing, and I will allow you to leave my country with your lives."

"What's this one other thing?" Orochimaru had asked cautiously, even as he struggled to hide his fatigue.

Hanzo had stared down at them, judged them, weighed them, and then nodded. "I will grant you with the title of the Sannin no Densetsu. Go forth and bear this title proudly, let the entire world know that it was Sanshouo Hanzo who granted it to you. Do this, and deliver my message, and I will let you and your remaining comrades return to your home."

Tsunade knew enough of the Old Tongue from her tutors as a child to translate the title. The Three Legendary Ninja. She had breathed a sigh of relief, before hesitantly asking. "And if we refuse?"

Hanzo had snorted as he turned away and leapt from his summon to a nearby cliff, dispersing the mighty summon as he did so. "Then I will kill every Konoha ninja, Hi Samurai, and everyone else I come across on my way to Konoha."

And then he was gone.

Tsunade shivered once more as she shook those memories away. She had always feared that Konoha would one day order her back to Ame no Kuni, back to that land of tears and death, but never in her darkest nightmares, nor in her wildest dreams had she believed she'd return to help that man.

Looking over at Jiraiya, she couldn't help but wonder what he thought of the situation. The pervert was still dressed in his usual get up unlike Tsunade, who wore a standard Jounin uniform, and from the look on his face, one would never guess he felt the slightest bit of unease at returning to face Hanzo once again. Even Sarutobi, who had never met Hanzo before, had changed into his old battle outfit. Yet Jiraiya looked the picture of calm and ease, his mind obviously elsewhere.

Frowning, Tsunade had a pretty good guess as to the subject of her teammate's thoughts. Those three war orphans he had taken on had obviously been more than a simple charity case to Jiraiya, and their apparent deaths had weighed heavily on his mind. She just hoped that he snapped out of it before-

Almost as one, the group came to a sudden halt at the sight that appeared before them.

* * *

Naruto frowned as the group came to a halt. Directly in front of them was what was obviously once a prosperous village. The village sat at the mouth of a natural chokepoint, and was surrounded by previously high walls and watch towers. The "border town" as it was called, was the only place where trade was permitted to the outside world.

No other such towns existed anywhere else on Ame no Kuni's borders, as Hanzo's isolation policy was strictly enforced throughout the rest of the country. The border town was Hanzo's concession to the need of outside supplies to rebuild his nation, and Hi no Kuni was the only nation that Ame was on even remotely decent terms with, resulting in the choice of location.

So the border town flourished-even with the heavy taxes imposed by Hanzo, as they had a monopoly on all trade with the outside world. _'Or at least, they_ had_ flourished.' _Naruto thought wryly as he studied the rundown towers and collapsing walls. There were several places where the wall had collapsed, gaping holes in others. Strangely, Naruto was almost certain that the damage wasn't the result of battle, but of neglect.

Before he had a chance to ask, the Ame Jounin started forward again, silently commanding them to follow. If the outside of the village seemed strange to Naruto, the inside was even more so. In the first five minutes, he saw what he was fairly certain was ten or twelve Ame shinobi. And that was just in the area in front of the gate.

The shinobi took notice of them as well, yet their eyes quickly shied away from them, almost as if afraid or ashamed. Their guide also pointedly ignored these unknown shinobi. Perhaps the strangest of all was the complete lack of hitae-ate among these ninja. Even the rebels reportedly still wore their hitae-ate, albeit with a slash running through it.

Yet these men and women, despite wearing the rest of the standard Ame attire, didn't display a single forehead protector amongst them.

Confused, he considered asking Tsunade, but seeing her slightly troubled look, he instead turned to what he felt was the next best choice. "Excuse me, Sandaime-sama." He asked politely as he had been taught. "Why aren't they wearing their village symbol?"

The elderly legend sent him a kind smile. "I'm not sure Naruto-chan. Perhaps you could elaborate for us, Jounin-san."

Their guide glanced at them, and then stared at the ninja around them in disgust and outrage. "Because they're cowards." He spat loudly, intentionally ensuring that he was overheard. "They fled the village to avoid the conflict, planning to return when the fighting is done. Until then, they cower in villages like this one all across Ame no Kuni. The bloody cowards will be lucky for a quick death when this is all over."

More than one of the ninja around them flinched at these words, before beginning to hurry away from the Ame Jounin's piercing gaze. "After all, Hanzo-sama and Amegakure no Sato has no use for these spineless weaklings!"

Naruto frowned in distaste at the ninja around him, before he was forced to speed up to keep up with their guide, who had decided to take to the roofs to travel more quickly through the village.

Along the way, they passed by dozens of other "Ame" shinobi, who to a man went out of their way to avoid attracting the group's attention.

'_As well they should.'_ Naruto mentally sneered. He had never been as disgusted as he was right then. That anyone could just abandon their home in its time of need, just to try to crawl into the good graces of whoever won was appalling to Naruto.

All his life he had been taught that loyalty to his village and to his country was one of the most important traits of a shinobi. Knowing that there were those who would betray the village was one thing¸ but leaving because you didn't _want to fight_, didn't want to _pick a side_…that was unforgivable! And somehow these people actually thought they could just waltz back into Amegakure when the dust settled?

Naruto couldn't even put into words how much that upset him!

"Try not to judge them too harshly, Naruto-chan." The Sandaime's voice broke through is thoughts.

When Naruto turned a questioning look towards the former Kage, the only response he was given was a sad shake of the head.

Glancing at Tsunade to see her reaction, Naruto tried to suppress his anger and turn his attention to the task at hand. The cowards weren't his mission, and Hanzo would no doubt deal with them himself.

After leaving the border town, they had journeyed on through the night and into the early morning with little rest. Naruto was mortified to wake up on Tsunade's back in the late morning, having apparently dozed off during one of their short breaks.

Even worse, he couldn't decide whether he should announce his wakefulness or feign being asleep. On the one hand, he was already seven years old, Konoha's Jinchuuriki, and almost a Chuunin to boot so it was more than a little embarrassing to be carried around like a child. On the other hand, if he "woke up" he was likely to get scolded something fierce.

Peeking out of one eye, he found his head resting in the crook of Tsunade's shoulder, and gazing at her neck, he was suddenly struck by a strangely powerful, yet vague sense of disappointment.

Before he could try to figure out the cause of that strange sensation, the group came to another halt as their guide –who had still yet to give his name- turned to gaze at Tsunade. "Wake the boy. We're nearly there."

Scowling at the Ame Jounin, Naruto semi-reluctantly climbed down from Tsunade's back. "Why didn't you wake me?" he whispered angrily to Tsunade once he was sure the Ame nin wasn't looking. "Don't you know how embarrassing that was? I'm seven years old and you were carrying me around like a baby!" He certainly wasn't blushing; no matter how hot his face was as he said this.

"Oh, hush, Naruto-chan." Tsunade scolded lightly as she once again ran her fingers through his unruly hair. "You're never too old for me to baby you."

Muttering curses that he wasn't supposed to know, Naruto turned on his heel and dashed after their guide, dutifully ignoring Tsunade's wide smile and light laughter as she easily kept pace with him.

As they came out the tree line, any thoughts on how Tsunade embarrassed him were brushed aside, replaced by awe as he stared at the first foreign Hidden Village he had ever seen. Amegakure no Sato sat in the middle of a large lake, almost seeming to rise out of the waters, made so by the mixture of buildings that stood on supports rising from the water and the ones that actually sat on the island. Assuming of course, that there actually was an island somewhere under all of that steel.

The buildings towered over anything Naruto had ever seen before, as if the residents were attempting to reach into the heavens. Unlike any building he had seen in Konoha, these building seemed made entirely out of concrete and steel, shining dully in the waning light.

'_Wait a minute, it isn't even noon yet…'_ frowning, Naruto finally managed to tear his gaze away from the village to gaze at the darkening sky, taking note of the ominous clouds that were slowly moving over the village towards him. The wind was also beginning to pick up, churning the waters of the great lake chaotically.

As he gazed in awe at the impressive sight, their guide raised his hand in a beckoning gesture, which was followed by a dozen Ame shinobi slowly rising from the waters of the lake, until they stood on, and then walked across the chaotic waters to stand before them on the shore.

"These men will Shunshin you into the village." Their guide stated simply.

Naruto frowned and began to ask why they couldn't just Shunshin themselves, only for the man to interrupt him. "The village is in a state of heightened alert. It wouldn't do for one of you to Shunshin somewhere by yourselves, and then be set upon by our ninja." _"Fool"_ was implied by the man's tone of voice, causing Naruto to stiffen in both anger and embarrassment.

He didn't appreciate anyone talking down to him like that, but even Naruto had to admit that for this being an incredibly important mission –not to mention his first- he hadn't made a good showing of it thus far.

Following a brief argument from Tsunade –who stubbornly insisted that Naruto Shunshin with her- the group from Konoha and their escorts appeared near the heart of the village. Looking around from up close, the village wasn't nearly as majestic and awe inspiring as it seemed from a distance. Up close, he could see some fairly horrific signs of battle damage, some relatively new, but the majority looking years, perhaps even decades old. Here there was a jagged hole in the side of a towering building, there another was nothing but rubble, over there was a fountain that was half destroyed, old burn marks scorched into that street.

He frowned thoughtfully at that. If he remembered his history lessons, the last and only time an invading force had reached Amegakure while Hanzo ruled had been during the Second Great Shinobi War. It was in fact, something of an embarrassment to Konoha, as despite the Sannin being the ones to bring about the end of the conflict in Ame no Kuni, Konoha had never managed to reach Amegakure. That dubious honor belonged to Iwagakure, who assaulted Hanzo's village nearly a year before Konoha actually invaded.

They suffered horrific losses in that battle to be sure, and were driven from the country practically overnight, yet they _had_ managed to cause quite a bit of damage.

So why was the damage still here? It had been somewhere around twenty years since the Battle of Amegakure, plenty of time to repair even the most extensive of damage. Did that mean they had just left it as it was? But why would they do that?

Unable to find a reason, Naruto tucked the question away to ask Tsunade or the Sandaime later.

As the rain increased, they were quickly escorted through the streets towards a large building near what Naruto assumed was the center of the village. On the way, they passed many villagers and ninja, many moving with confidence and a sense of purpose, yet just as many bore looks of uncertainty, or in some cases, fear.

Again, Naruto kept his questions to himself as they arrived at their destination. Like many of the buildings in Amegakure, it was an incredibly tall building, constructed of steel and concrete. The key difference however, was what was at the top of the building. The roof appeared to have a surprisingly ornate and traditional compound built on top of it.

It was to this compound that they were taken, their trip through the inside of the towering building surprisingly brief as their guide was joined by more than a score of Hanzo's personal bodyguards, all stoically silent as they escorted them to the compound at the top.

The mansion itself seemed untouched by the damage below, though the heavy presence of Hanzo's bodyguards was easily noticed. Once inside, they were escorted to a set of rooms where they could dry off and leave their things -which included their weapons- before going to meet Hanzo.

"This is stupid." Naruto complained to himself as he reluctantly set aside the kodachi Ebisu-sensei had given him. "We're here to help Hanzo, so why is he treating us like enemies?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the Sandaime answered him. "He's a very powerful man Naruto-kun. His reputation alone is enough to keep most nations from even thinking of trying to attack Ame no Kuni. However, being such an important and powerful man means he must constantly be on the lookout for assassination plots. It's been theorized by several strategists both within and without Hi no Kuni that Hanzo's death would result in the destruction of Amegakure no Sato, and the collapse of Ame, Kusa, and even Tori no Kuni."

Naruto blinked in shock. "He's that important?"

After receiving a nod, Naruto carefully pondered this new information before asking, "But if Hanzo's strength keeps anyone from invading, then why did Kumo attack us? The Sannin are stronger than Hanzo so-" he never got to finish his sentence, as the Sandaime burst into laughter, drawing the ire of Jiraiya and Tsunade, and an apathetic look from Kakashi.

"Oh heavens no, Naruto-kun!" the Sandaime said as his laughter died down to a chuckle. "The Sannin aren't stronger than Hanzo!"

Frowning in confusion, Naruto slowly pointed out, "But they got the title Sannin for beating him in the Second Great Shinobi War. They're famous for it!"

"That's how many portray it, and just as many believe it as well. But the truth is more of a testament to Hanzo than my students." Naruto's confusion must have shown on his face, because the Sandaime was quick to continue his explanation. "Hanzo judged everyone at that battle looking for those who suited his purpose. He killed everyone, and quite easily bested even Tsunade-chan, Jiraiya-kun, and Orochimaru. He spared them for two reasons. The first was no doubt as a peace offering of sorts. Hanzo undoubtedly believed that killing my students would only enrage me, not to mention making me all the more determined to see Amegakure fall. So by sparing them, he could be sure that I'd at least consider peace."

"So what was the second reason?" Naruto asked curiously, eliciting another smile from the Sandaime.

"The second reason was Hanzo's foresight and political skills." The Sandaime raised a hand to halt Naruto's question before he could even ask it. "You have to understand Naruto-kun, Ame no Kuni had just gone from being large enough and militarily strong enough to challenge any of the Great Shinobi Nations, to its current size, the nation's cities and villages in ruin, their economy and military devastated. Hanzo had to act quickly and wisely to bring the war to an end without leaving Ame no Kuni under the control of a foreign power. The Sannin were his solution. When he confronted those ninja that day, he chose to leave my students alive, and planned to find some potential legends. That they met that standard as well meant little to him. He evaluated them, and saw their potential for greatness. As a result, he gave them the title "Sannin". Most think this was to honor my students, but the truth is another matter. As each individual member of the Sannin made a name for themselves and their fame and legend grew, people were always forced to remember two things. That Sanshouo Hanzo gave the Sannin their title in recognition of their skills…and that he did so after fighting and defeating all three of them at once."

Naruto blinked as his mind worked furiously to connect the dots the Professor laid out for him. "So, you're saying he did it so his legend and reputation would continue to grow through their exploits?" When the Sandaime nodded, Naruto frowned as he turned studied Tsunade and Jiraiya, who had both turned to listen to them. "Well, I'm sure Tsunade must have done all the work, while Jiraiya just got in the way. After all, calling them the Ninin would sound pretty stupid."

"What a childish thing to say." A voice rasped out. "I wonder if Danzo is trying to renege on our deal, sending me such an incompetent and ignorant child."

Three of the five Konoha shinobi stiffened, and then whirled around to face the corner the voice had come from. The corner on the _opposite side_ of the room from the only entrance. The Sandaime and Jiraiya were the only ones who seemed unsurprised to see him there, though Jiraiya seemed unable or unwilling to speak.

"Hello…Hanzo-dono." The Sandaime greeted cordially. "I'm honored that you would come to greet us personally. It's nice to finally meet you face to face."

"Hiruzen-dono…you're looking older than I expected. I trust you still possess the skills that made you legend?" Hanzo questioned, somehow sounding dubious without _actually _doing so.

"Oh, I think you'll find that I'm still quite capable." The Sandaime replied casually. "Perhaps we could spar to put your mind at ease?"

"That's not necessary." Hanzo refused. "I'm sure you and your students will do just fine. It's these other two that concern me."

Naruto stood up a little taller and did his best to look impassive under the legend's gaze. His attempts were foiled when Tsunade wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him back and away.

"I assure you, Kakashi and Naruto are quite capable of completing their portion of this mission." The Sandaime said with a calm that Naruto envied.

"Kakashi? As in Kopi Nin Kakashi?" Hanzo rasped curiously. "Perhaps Danzo was actually keeping his end of the bargain after all. Very well, leave the boy here and we'll go over my plans for dealing with Pein." Hanzo ordered –_ordered! - _them as he nonchalantly headed for the door.

Naruto opened his mouth to object, both to his exclusion and to Hanzo's nerve to think he could order the Sandaime and his students around, only for Tsunade to loudly interrupt him. "I'll stay here with Naruto and send a Kage Bunshin with you. I need to brief him on a few things myself."

Hanzo just snorted without looking at her. "Very well, so long as you are prepared for your part. And Tsunade? I trust you will enjoy your time in Ame no Kuni more than your last visit."

Tsunade stiffened at Hanzo's words, yet much to Naruto's surprise she didn't say anything as the group and her Kage Bunshin left them alone.

* * *

Sarutobi frowned slightly as he followed Hanzo to some form of sitting room, the ever present bodyguards stationed around the room. He had never actually met Hanzo before, and as such, wasn't sure how to read the man and his actions. Even worse, he wasn't sure whether Hanzo or he was the stronger, though at least Hanzo seemed as equally unsure. That would help keep the two groups on equal footing, and Hanzo would hopefully be less willing to consider betraying them.

"So, Tsunade has a son now." Hanzo suddenly commented as he knelt down at the table.

As one, the Konoha ninja froze, though their exact reactions varied. Sarutobi and Jiraiya were able to remain more or less blank faced, while Kakashi looked shocked and surprised for a brief moment before copying them. Tsunade's clone had a look of utter terror for the briefest of moments, before she too adopted a neutral expression, though there was still a hint of fear in her eyes.

Taking the lead, Sarutobi sat as well and nonchalantly asked, "What makes you say that?"

Hanzo just snorted as the others took their respective places at the table. "Because I'm not blind. They bear more than a passing resemblance, and she's far too protective of the boy for it to just be his status as a Jinchuuriki. By the way, Danzo and I will be having words about sending an untested, child Jinchuuriki into my country." Hanzo rasped irritably.

"Why don't we turn our attention to why we're here in the first place?" Jiraiya suggested carefully. "What can you tell us about the situation?"

Sarutobi didn't know whether to applaud his student for trying to protect Naruto and Tsunade by changing the subject, or bash him on the head for ruining his own attempts at learning how much Hanzo knew, or suspected.

"Why not?" Hanzo rasped with a shrug. "The sooner we finish, the sooner I can get you people out of my country." Raising two fingers, one of Hanzo's bodyguards immediately approached and placed a map along with a series of rough sketches on the table before withdrawing with a bow to his leader.

"The rebel's main stronghold is here." Hanzo pointed to a series of low mountains barely five miles outside the village. "There is a network of caves that they've been using to store supplies and shelter their wounded. Naturally, I want them all exterminated."

Tsunade's clone narrowed her eyes angrily, yet she kept silent. Sarutobi understood her reluctance to deliberately target wounded men and women, yet they were in no position to refuse. This was Hanzo's nation, and they were here with explicit instructions to aid him. Besides, there wasn't much difference between killing the wounded in an assault, and taking them captive just so they could be publically executed in Amegakure. Either way, they'd still die.

"Are these pictures of this Pein character?" he asked with a gesture to the sketches.

Hanzo singled out the sketch of one man and handed them out. "This is the one body that's been present at every battle. He possesses some strange ability to push and pull with a gesture that's nearly impossible to resist. The good news is, there's a delay of about five seconds in between each use. These others," he gestured to the other dozen or so photos. "are the ones I've already killed. They seem to have some special abilities of their own, though whether or not the new ones have them as well, I can't say."

"What kind of abilities are we talking about?" Jiraiya asked as he looked through the photos. "Bloodlines?"

"Outside the Rinnegan, no." Hanzo replied. "But one of them has some kind of sealing ability. As far as I can tell, it only works on chakra and element based attacks. Another common skill seems to have to do with summoning. But these aren't normal summons, they are all different creatures, and seem to possess the Rinnegan as well. Whether they receive any abilities from those eyes is unknown."

"You said last time that there were four bodies?" Sarutobi asked with a frown. When Hanzo nodded, Sarutobi pointed out, "Yet you've only mentioned three abilities. Isn't there a fourth one?"

"Not that I've noticed." Hanzo answered with a shrug. "While the bodies seem to fight in unison, only one of them seems to focus on Taijutsu. The others help, but the sealing one seems to focus on defending the others, while the main one keeps trying to throw me around."

"So it will be four against four, while Kakashi and Naruto focus on the other rebels." Jiraiya murmured thoughtfully. "And as long as we keep them separate, they shouldn't be too difficult to bring down. Though it'll be dangerous until we figure out which body possesses which ability."

"I'll be going with Naruto." Tsunade's clone suddenly spoke up. "Take Kakashi with you instead."

Kakashi glanced over at her, before looking to Sarutobi for guidance.

For his part, Sarutobi glanced at Hanzo and tried to figure out how he would react to this. In theory, if Sarutobi could predict that, he could manipulate the situation properly. Before he could however, Hanzo snorted. "By all means, Tsunade. We wouldn't want little Naruto to skin his knee without his mother there to baby him."

There was a tense silence for a moment, before Hanzo pointed back to the map. "We'll approach from all directions and assault the caves simultaneously. That will divide their forces and, hopefully, Pein's bodies. My men will handle the riffraff, with Tsunade and Naruto's aid." He glanced up at them all meaningfully. "I'd prefer if you not be recognized as Konoha nin. Regardless of that, however, I intend for this to be the final battle. If you even think of trying to leave before everything is settled, I'll see to it that Iwa and Suna are made aware that Amegakure will not oppose, and will in fact aid them should they wish to strike at Konoha."

Sarutobi frowned at the threat, and calmly said, "I assure you, Hanzo-dono, you can count on us to do our part."

He and Hanzo stared into each other's eyes, each trying to take measure of the other. Finally, Hanzo nodded decisively. "Then we attack at dawn."

* * *

Tsunade's eyes widened as her clone dispelled itself, the memories of the briefing and the decided on plan rushing through her mind, along with one very disturbing piece of information. Hanzo knew Naruto was her son.

Before she knew what she was doing, she crossed the room to where Naruto was carefully looking over his equipment, instinctively pulling him into a hug much to his squawking surprise. Tsunade's heart hammered as she remembered those impossibly black eyes looking down at her, and then saw Naruto in her place. The thought of Hanzo looking at Naruto with those eyes made her want to run to the farthest corner of the earth to ensure Naruto safety.

She buried her face in Naruto's hair, ignoring his squirming and questions. What would Hanzo do with his knowledge? Would he sell it for his own gain? Use it to blackmail her, or possibly even Danzo? Would he take vengeance on Naruto for her past hubris? Would he attempt to kidnap him?

Squeezing Naruto tightly, Tsunade took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. Whatever Hanzo intended to do, she was reasonably certain it wouldn't happen until after he had reclaimed his country. By that time, they should all be rested enough to slip out of the country without much trouble. Nodding to herself, she reluctantly released Naruto.

Turning to face her, Naruto asked, "Tsunade? Is something wrong?"

Looking down at his concerned face, she couldn't help but smile lovingly and run a hand through his unruly hair. "No, everything's fine, Naruto-chan." She reassured him, before kneeling down in front of his equipment. "We'll be moving out early tomorrow morning, so make sure you have everything ready."

"Right!" Naruto nodded as he pulled out a vial of light purple liquid and carefully began applying it to the kodachi Ebisu had given him. "What's the plan?" he asked curiously without taking his eyes from his work.

Tsunade eyed the fast acting poison suspiciously, before explaining what was known about Pein, and how the others intended to deal with him. "You and I will be attacking from the south, and we'll help Hanzo' men deal with the regular rebels. Stick close to me and do as I say during the battle, understand?" she ordered sternly, well aware of her son's reckless tendencies.

* * *

Kakashi considered himself a good shinobi. Some considered him a great shinobi, but he didn't let that go to his head. He knew his faults better than anyone after all.

Kakashi was a powerful Jounin and an Anbu captain, with an A rank listing in most villages' bingo books -not that that was something to be happy about. He was the son of Konoha's White Fang, and the sole remaining student of the Yondaime Hokage. He was always aware of his surroundings. Whether in the field, or in the safety of his own home, Kakashi could drop off to sleep the moment his eyes closed. Conversely, he could also snap to fully awake at the slightest disturbance.

So it was to his great annoyance that he couldn't drop off to sleep, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't the impending battle in -Kakashi glanced at his watch- four hours that kept him up. Nor was it his location, in the heart of Sanshouo Hanzo's stronghold that disturbed him. It was actually something quite small, relatively speaking. A single sentence that kept bouncing around his head. _"So, Tsunade has a son now." _Hanzo's words were still shocking, even hours later.

Kakashi considered himself a very perceptive man. He had known about his sensei's relationship with Tsunade. He had even been at the wedding, albeit a bit late. When the Yondaime died, Kakashi had been heartbroken, and had withdrawn into himself, as he expected Tsunade had done as well. In fact, her abrupt withdrawal from the village seemed to prove this fact, and was actually what he had come to expect of the legendary kunoichi.

He'd thought nothing of her disappearance, and assumed that Shizune would continue to look after her mistress. He had actually been surprised to see her in that briefing room in one of the Anbu compounds. Even more so when it was revealed that she was going to accompany them.

Kakashi had also thought nothing of her proximity to Naruto Uzumaki. After all, who better to oversee the Jinchuuriki than Konoha's sole remaining Senju? And if she had seemingly grown attached to the child over the years? Well, women were strange creatures.

So when Hanzo had suddenly proclaimed Naruto as Tsunade's son, Kakashi's first instinct was to dismiss the claim. That is, until he noticed the reactions of the others. Particularly Jiraiya and Tsunade's reactions.

Giving up on sleep, Kakashi sat up and gazed around the darkened room. The Sandaime was sleeping easily in his futon, not a twitch or sound to show any disturbance to his dreams. Across from him, were two futons set right next to each other. In the collective center of the two futons, was a sleeping Tsunade, who was firmly holding a sleeping Naruto to her chest.

Kakashi would be the first to admit that it was quite cute to see Naruto argue and fight with Tsunade about sharing a futon, though in the end it turned out that Tsunade was the more stubborn of the two.

Glancing to where the other Sannin should be sleeping, he was surprised to find Jiraiya's futon empty. Getting up, Kakashi carefully padded over to the window where he could just make out the form of Jiraiya silhouetted by the feeble light coming from a torch outside.

As he came up to his side, Jiraiya glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. "Can't sleep?"

Kakashi remained silent and just stared at the legendary Sannin, his mind racing in an attempt to determine his next course of action. He felt enraged, confused, betrayed, and a gauntlet of other emotions.

Seeming to take his silence as assent, Jiraiya turned back to the window, staring up at the clouded sky, the occasional distant flashes signaling yet another day of rain. "I've always enjoyed the rain in Hi no Kuni. There it reminds me of growth, the rain ushering in the seasonal crops that give us such prosperity." He said softly. "But here, the rain is like the tears of this land, forever crying at the pain and strife that plagues this land so." Jiraiya paused for a moment, and then chuckled bitterly. "Some of my worst and fondest memories happened in this place. I took on my first students here, felt such guilt-"

"Why wasn't I told?" Kakashi finally interrupted. "Out of everyone, I deserved to know."

Jiraiya didn't even glance at him. "How's that?"

"Because Sensei was like a father to me!" Kakashi hissed. "If he had a son, I should have been told, especially after he died! Especially after his son became the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki!"

"Do Tsunade's wishes mean nothing?" Jiraiya asked quietly.

"Stop dancing around the question!" Kakashi growled equally quiet. "Why. Wasn't. I. Told?"

For a moment, he thought Jiraiya would try to blow him off again. So he nearly jumped when the Sandaime's voice said from behind him. "Danzo."

Turning to face his former leader, Kakashi asked, "The Godaime ordered his heritage be kept secret? Even from me?"

"That was one of his orders, though it's the least of his crimes, considering Naruto." Sarutobi murmured near silently. "Have you ever wondered just how Danzo was suddenly able to become Hokage? There were no less than three other candidates for the position, two of them younger and, arguably stronger than him. Coincidentally, all three of them are in this very room."

Kakashi went very still at what he thought was being implied. "I'm not sure I understand what you're trying to say, Sandaime-sama." He said cautiously.

"He took Naruto, Kakashi." Jiraiya suddenly said, still looking into the night sky. "Just moments after Kyuubi was sealed, Danzo took him. Then he put a Juinjutsu on Naruto."

Kakashi stiffened at the revelation, his mind connecting the dots effortlessly. "He blackmailed you?"

"In essence, yes." Sarutobi admitted calmly.

The trio descended into silence as Kakashi tried to understand the situation fully. His sensei's son had been used to create a Jinchuuriki. Then he was kidnapped and..._enslaved_ by Danzo. The same Danzo who had caused such a stir when he abolished the Hyuuga clan's Juinjutsu, the Kagonotori shīru.

"That bastard!" He hissed angrily before turning back to the Sandaime. "What are you doing about it?" He questioned no doubt in his mind that any of these three would fight against this atrocity.

"Can we count on your help, Kakashi?" The Sandaime asked with a burning determination in his eyes. "Can we count on Anbu captain "Inu's" help?"

Kakashi nodded fiercely.

"Then first and foremost, you must not allow Danzo to discover what you know. That means no one else can know. Not even Naruto himself."

Nodding, Kakashi set his mind to memorizing everything they told him. None of them would be getting any sleep that night.

* * *

Naruto rose early the next morning, though it was obvious that the Sandaime, Jiraiya, and Kakashi had been awake from some time. And he was willing to bet Tsunade had been as well, since he opened his eyes to Tsunade staring at him with a strangely familiar expression, though he couldn't quite place it.

Once she finally released him -which took a good five minutes- Naruto rose and put on his equipment. A single shuriken holster on each leg, along with a kunai pouch on each hip. And last but not least, was the kodachi he strapped to his back.

Naruto briefly wondered if he should have found some form of armor like Tsunade wanted him to. Now that his first real battle was just hours away, Naruto felt almost rediculously unprepared. Instead of armor, he'd settled with a somewhat traditional outfit. The clothing consisted of a pair of dark shinobi pants, a long-sleeve fishnet shirt, and a dark short-sleeved training shirt with a square portion cut out of the front. He had recently added a pair of Anbu standard forearm bracers during his Kenjutsu training, and he had to admit, he found them far more comfortable than expected.

Flexing his fingers and experimentally drawing his kodachi a few times, Naruto nodded to Tsunade who blinked repeatedly at him before squeezing her eyes shut and drawing a deep breath.

Naruto opened his mouth to ask if she was alright, only to be flabbergasted when her eyes snapped open, filled with a fierce determination. "Let's go, Naruto-chan."

Gulping at the ferocity of her gaze, Naruto followed her from the room, the Sandaime and the others falling in around them.

They moved in near silence, and Naruto discretely took in the appearances' of his companions. Tsunade was dressed in the standard Konoha Jounin's attire, though she had added a large waist pack and a second kunai pouch.

Sarutobi wore what he thought was a black jumpsuit, which featured mesh segments over the lower portions of his limbs, and a grey gauntlet that covered his right wrist, forearm and elbow. He also wore an armoured hood reminiscent of a Samurai helmet, with a bandanna-like hitae-ate wrapped around it. He also had two shuriken holsters strapped to either side of his back, which seemed to have a place for something else to be attached, though Naruto was sure what.

Kakashi was dressed in a standard Jounin outfit as well, though he wore the metal backed gloves of the Anbu as well. He hid his lower face with a cloth mask, and his hitae-ate covered his left eye just as it had since they'd first met.

Jiraiya on the other hand, looked no different from how he always dressed. Inwardly sneering at the fool who was seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the situation, Naruto came to a halt with the rest of the group when Hanzo appeared before them.

"Follow me." The legendary Ame leader ordered with a rasp, before a group Shunshin transported them all out of Amegakure and onto the waters of the great lake that surrounded the village.

Naruto stumbled for a moment before he was able to bring his chakra to bear to keep from sinking. Feeling his face heat up when he saw that he was the only one to stumble, he scowled when he saw Hanzo staring at him speculatively. Naruto found Hanzo's measuring stare disturbing, and if the way she stiffened and stepped slightly in front of him was any indication, Tsunade agreed.

Hanzo nodded once and said, "Maybe you're not so useless after all boy." Naruto didn't have a chance to answer, as Hanzo turned to face the large assembly of Ame shinobi that was arrayed around them. Most of them wore breath masks like Hanzo himself, and all the ones who didn't wore the grey capes of Hanzo's personal bodyguards. "Move out!" Hanzo somehow ordered loudly, despite the raspy quality of his voice.

As the morning drizzle turned into a downpour, the Ame force turned almost as one, and began sprinting across the waters, Hanzo and the Konoha nin quickly taking the lead.

* * *

Naruto cursed silently as he slowly crept through the rain towards the base of the mountain.

It hadn't taken long for Hanzo's men to reach the mountain, and they had swiftly surrounded the mountain, before slowly and cautiously tightening their encirclement. That was nearly two hours ago, and Naruto was starting to question whether or not he should have been a samurai instead of a ninja. At least then, the fighting would probably be over and done with, and he wouldn't be stuck out in this rain.

They hadn't even _seen_ a rebel since their arrival, and there was only twenty or so meters left between them and the base of the mountain.

Glancing to his left and right, he could just make out the line of Ame shinobi stretched out with intervals to prevent making themselves a target. He knew there were another two such lines behind them at fifteen meter intervals, just as he knew that Tsunade was directly behind him. Naruto could _feel_ her eyes on him.

Crouching a little lower, he peered through the bush to study the mountainside. It wasn't exceptionally steep, and didn't appear to be defended. There wasn't a sentry in sight either, though that didn't mean much with ninja.

Naruto glanced right periodically, waiting for the hand signs that would drift up and down the line from the commanding Jounin -a man by the name of Ugatsu- in the center.

A moment later, the hand sign for "attack" was given, and once the return signal was given, the line dashed forward. Well, most of the line did. Naruto was prevented from joining them by a firm hand on his shoulder.

Glancing back in surprise, he saw a serious Tsunade standing there. "Wait." She whispered sternly.

Confused, he turned back around just in time to see the Ame shinobi reach the mountain. Then all hell broke loose.

A number of boulders ranging in size from the size of his head to three or four times his body suddenly shot out from the mountainside, crushing and knocking down any ninja unfortunate enough to be in their path. No sooner did the boulders strike, then dozens of Ame shinobi with slashes through their hitae-ate rise up from hidden trenches and fighting positions. Most of them let lose a barrage of kunai and a handful of umbrellas floated into the air, unleashing a hail of senbon into the disorganized loyalists.

With cries of, "Glory to Pein-sama!" the rebels charged down the slope, a fanatical gleam in their eyes as they attacked.

Ugatsu recovered quickly, and with an equally fervent cry of "Long live Hanzo-sama!" The remnants of his line zealously charged up to meet their foes. They were quickly joined by the second line, which now included both Naruto and Tsunade.

The rebels had briefly had the advantage of surprise and numbers when faced with only the first line, but the arrival of the second line quickly reversed their positions.

Drawing his poisoned kodachi, Naruto hoped the rain wouldn't wash away his poison before the battle entered the caves before charging at his first opponent with a chakra enhanced leap.

His adversary was surprised by how quickly he closed the distance, but still managed to almost completely avoid his blade. Unfortunately for the rebel, almost wasn't good enough. Naruto's kodachi gave the man an insignificant cut on his arm, followed shortly by a look of shock, then terror filled eyes as the poison took effect. Drawing a kunai, Naruto instinctively stepped in close to the now convulsing man, who stared at him with eyes filled with a terrible realization. Trying not to look too deeply into the man, Naruto quickly slit his throat just as he had practiced.

As his first kill fell to the ground with a frantic gurgle, Naruto was briefly surprised that he didn't feel any of the emotions he had been expecting. Then again, that might have been because he was busy fending one of the rebel's comrades.

This one fell almost as quickly as the first, caught off guard when Naruto's chakra enhanced reflexes allowed him to easily duck under the swing of the man's sword, before darting in to inflict a shallow, yet deadly gash in his left leg. Naruto was able to ignore this one's eyes, yet was unable to finish him as a third man attacked him almost instantly.

Unlike the last two, this one had witnessed his previous battle, and was prepared both for his chakra enhanced speed, and his poisoned blade. Naruto's kodachi couldn't come close to the man, who took every opportunity to deliver a skull rattling punch or kick.

Snarling, Naruto attempted to dart in close, slashing at the man with his kunai in order to distract him from the kodachi. Unfortunately, the man easily saw through his feint, and seized Naruto's left wrist in an iron grip.

Realizing his dangerous position, Naruto swung his kodachi wildly, only for his opponent to kick the flat of his kodachi, knocking it far off to the side.

Naruto was just barely able to keep a hold of his sword, and as a result his right arm was now extended to his far right, leaving him completely open to the rebel's own kunai thrust.

For a moment, time seemed to slow down as he watched the kunai approach his chest. Naruto was filled with a terribly sense of regret and disappointment. Disappointment that he was so weak that he couldn't even complete his first mission, dead at the hands of some delusional rebel.

Regret that he'd never see Ebisu-sensei or Shizune again, regret that he wouldn't be able to apologize to Danzo-sama for his failure. And strangely enough, he felt an overwhelming sense of regret that he'd be leaving Tsunade alone. He didn't understand that last one in the slightest, but that did nothing to lessen the pain.

Time sped up again, and the rebel's kunai arm suddenly halted, a strangely familiar hand holding it with contemptuous ease. Naruto and the rebel both blinked in shock, and then the rebel's head went bouncing across the ground, his body crumpling in front of Naruto.

"Are you alright?" Tsunade asked frantically as she tried to stare him up and down while scanning the surrounding battle at the same time.

Blinking his eyes, Naruto shook his head to clear it before replying. "I'm fine. I'll do better next time!"

Tsunade looked like she desperately wanted to say something, but before she could; a pair of rebels came charging at them from opposite sides, trying to catch them in a pincer move.

Tsunade turned and leapt at the closer of the two, and Naruto did likewise with the other.

Like with the last man, this new attacker had seen Naruto's reflexes in action, and struck out with a series of powerful strikes, forcing Naruto to block rather than parrying or dodging. Even worse, this man was wearing strange metal gauntlets that covered from his fingertips all the way to his shoulders, preventing Naruto from cutting his arms at all. Of course, that turned out to be his undoing. For whatever reason, the man didn't make the connection that if Naruto could greatly enhance his speed with chakra, then enhancing his strength was equally easy. Catching one of the man's fists in his palm, Naruto used a strength enhanced pull to whirl the man around and slam him to the ground, followed by a slash to his back with Naruto's kodachi. Naruto cursed when the man quickly started to rise, before stabbing the blade through the rebel's heart.

_'Shit!'_ He hissed to himself. _'The poison must be washing off...damn rain!'_

Seeing Tsunade finished with her own opponent, Naruto began pulling on a minute amount of the Kyuubi's chakra. There were no physical manifestations of the fox, and its potent chakra allowed Naruto to move several times faster than his own chakra would allow. He hadn't wanted to use the Kyuubi's chakra, wanting to rely on his own abilities for his first battle. Unfortunately, with his poison all but gone, his best weapon was now useless. Naruto couldn't afford to let his pride get in the way.

Darting through the battle, he settled for backstabbing occupied and distracted rebels for the most part, only occasionally going toe to toe. Even then, his enhanced speed and strength allowed him to finish most of his fights in the first few strikes, when his opponents were still underestimating him. Only a handful were able to match his attacks, and then things became desperate for him. Quite simply, his inexperience prevented him from finding quick solutions, and more than once he was saved by Hanzo's ninja, or in the few life-threatening cases, by Tsunade.

Naruto turned from his latest opponent to see a strange sight. Standing near one of the caves, was a tall man with long orange hair and a face that looked more metal than flesh, there were so many piercings. He wore the same slashed Ame headband as the other rebels, but also wore a strange, black cloak with red clouds decorating it. Around him were nearly a score of Hanzo's ninja, all unmoving and looking as if they had simply collapsed and died.

The strange nin turned to him and studied him with cold, purple eyes with concentric rings radiating out from the pupil. The man took one step towards him, and then jumped to the side to dodge a barrage of kunai.

"Maa, I was wondering if one of you would show up." Kakashi said lazily as he moved calmly towards the Ame rebel. "You're one of Pein's bodies, right?"

When the man didn't answer, Kakashi tilted his head towards Naruto, but carefully kept his eye on the silent man. "Run along now, Naruto. I'll be fighting this one."

Naruto nodded cautiously, and then joined a squad of Ame shinobi charging into the nearby cave.

* * *

**Translations:**

Kagonotori shīru=Caged Bird Seal (I think)

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**AN:**

Not much this time around. I'd thought about finishing this battle in this chapter, but that would not only be a huge chapter, it would also end this little arc in one chapter. Naruto's fighting style right now is based on poison, and chakra enhanced strength and reflexes to make up for the fact that he's a seven year old his outfit, think the Hyuuga training outfit, minus the long sleeves, and add in the fishnet and forearm bracers. Right now, he isn't lashing out with the Kyuubi's chakra, for the sole reason that it makes him a huge target. Not something he wants in his first battle. If he immediately started pulling out vast amount of Kyuubi's chakra, everyone in the battle is going to notice, and a lot of shinobi from both sides are going to try to kill him to keep him from unleashing said power on them. And before anyone asks, only four of Pein's bodies will be making an appearance. My reasoning is, it should take Pein a while to figure out how to create/use his bodies. If he just instantly gained mastery of them the moment he killed Yahiko, Hanzo would never have made it away from that battle. And since it's taken him awhile to figure them out, that would mean it's taken him awhile to really threaten Hanzo. Besides someone would have noticed the extermination of anything and everything connected to Hanzo if it had happened years before the start of the series.

Finally, about no one really doing anything to conceal their identities/village affiliation, keep in mind a few things. One, their aren't going to be many up to date pictures of anyone floating around, due to lack of the technology to do so/how hard it is to track shinobi of their caliber down, take a picture, and escape. Everyone's heard about the God of Shinobi. But hearing a story or rumor about someone doesn't mean much when it comes time to identify them. Yes, any halfway competent intelligence service will try to piece together a rough sketch of what someone looks like if hey feel they're important enough. But that again requires someone who's actually _seen_ them relatively recently. For instance, if random Ame rebel #1 doesn't know about Tsunade's technique to maintain her youthfulness, then he's going to expect her to _look_ like she's in her forties. So they're not going to see Tsunade who looks like she's in her twenties and go, "Holy shit, it's Tsunade of the Sannin!" Even if they hear someone say her name, they're more likely to assume that it's a popular female name in Konoha.

As always, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as are any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Peace, Vaan.


	7. Chapter 7

**Words-58161, Chapters-6, Reviews-92, Hits-27425, C2s-19, Fav-208, Alerts-225**

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**AN:** Well, it's been a long time hasn't it? As is becoming a regular occurrence for me, I'm considering changing the title and/or summary to something else. Any suggestions are welcome. Special thanks go out to Hygieia for proofing this, so if you find something wrong, BLAME HIM! Just kidding, seriously, he really helped me out. Special thanks also go to Kenchi618 for giving me some great advice that helped with a fight scene that was giving me all kinds of headaches. If you haven't read any of his works, I'd recommend Sealed Kunai. One of my top favorites that's actually still being updated. Also special thanks to Kagaseo, who's been a fantastic sounding board for me to bounce ideas off of for this fic.

Now, as much as I'd like to say that updates for this story will be regular...they won't. I've got _maybe_ five more chapters worth written up for this, but between working on just Reckoning and Specialist, I'm having a hard time making enough progress to update both every month or so. Trying to do twice a month or more is...probably not going to happen. Not unless I take another year long hiatus to work on them anyway. And that's not even mentioning any other plot ideas I come up with. So for now expect an update once a month or so.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed despite nearly two years of inactivity. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. As always, all reviews/criticism is welcomed. So, without further ado, I give you chapter 7 of Naruto: the Reckoning.

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This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

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'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

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**Reckoning chapter 7**

Desperately struggling to control his breathing, he cautiously peered around the corner of the tunnel he was in. Gasping in relief to find himself alone, he slumped against the wall. The movement caused the young shinobi to flinch in pain.

Grimacing at the stabbing agony in his side, he bit down on his lip to silence a pained whimper . Mentally cursing himself for the brief distraction that led to the injury, he cautiously tugged up his bloodied shirt to examine the wound. It was a bloody gash tracing along the edge of one of his ribs, but despite the pain, the wound was fairly shallow.

_'That's about the only thing going for me right now.'_ He thought sourly as he scrubbed a hand through his soaked hair. Shortly after entering the caves and tunnels he'd run right into a pitched battle between the two Ame factions. It was only his quick reflexes and some desperate dodging that he didn't lose anything more than his hitae-ate to an enemy's sword. Even worse, a poorly aimed Doton jutsu had collapsed part of the tunnels, separating the young shinobi from his allies and enemies alike.

The problem was, he hadn't been able to find his hitae-ate afterwards, meaning that by approaching any of his allies he ran the risk of being attacked on sight.

Bandaging his side to the best of his abilities, the young man cowered in his corner with a whimper, cursing his luck. Nothing was going the way he thought it would. The conflict was supposed to be all but over, needing only one decisive battle to bring peace to the shattered nation. He'd been ecstatic when he was given the chance to partake in what would have been his first real mission in service to the Village. His first real battle to tell the truth.

Now he found himself regretting not heeding his sensei's word to not to get involved. Though he'd trained for years, he found himself almost completely unprepared for actual combat.

He'd nearly been killed numerous times since the battle began -much to his chagrin- and the enemy was on the verge of completely wiping them out.

Squeezing his eyes shut in a desperate attempt to hold in his tears, he hysterically rocked back and forth as a feeling of utter hopelessness set in. "Oh God...they're gone...they're gone, everyone's gone!" He moaned in a keening way. As much as he didn't want to, he was once again subjected to the memories of the people he respected most being defeated and killed by those...those...monsters!

They had to be monsters; nothing human could have possibly done what they did!

Quivering in barely restrained terror, he forced himself to push aside those images and focus on what he still had to fight for. His sensei and the old man, both of whom were still waiting for him back in the Village. And then there was the Village itself_. 'That's right!'_ He frantically reminded himself. _'I have to keep fighting! For the Village!'_

Scrubbing at his eyes, he pushed himself to his feet, a new surge of energy rushing through his exhausted body. He quickly ran around the corner only to throw himself back out of the arc of a sword. He let out a panicked yelp that was quickly cut off into a choking wheeze as his attacker punched him in the throat hard enough to crush his windpipe.

Staring in horror as he recognized one of the monsters that had torn through their ranks, he only managed a slight keen before the blond demon's kodachi swung back around impossibly fast to plunge straight through his heart. Ishikawa died almost instantly.

* * *

Naruto tugged his blade from the redhead's chest with a squelching sound, grimacing in distaste as he was hit with arterial spray.

Forcing down his disgust, Naruto quickly rifled through the older boy's equipment pouches for anything of use. Unfortunately, all he found was a single battered kunai, a handful of shuriken, and a few meters of ninja wire. Hardly a decent stockpile.

Hissing angrily, Naruto kicked himself for chasing after the rebel when he fled after the tunnel had collapsed. He'd been hoping the older boy would lead him somewhere _important_, like an armory, or that his injury would compel him to run to wherever the Ame rebels were keeping their medical supplies and wounded. Or better yet, some kind of command and control center.

Instead, he found himself more or less lost in one of the no doubt countless tunnels that crisscrossed beneath the mountain.

Grumbling to himself, he carefully backtracked to the nearest hub of tunnels. Studying the entrance to each tunnel, Naruto grit his teeth angrily. _'Every tunnel looks the same!'_ He mentally growled_. 'Damn it! I shouldn't have let myself get separated from Tsunade.'_ Strangely, despite having absolute confidence in Tsunade, he couldn't help but worry about her in the back of his mind. After all, she did have the oddest moments of uncertainty and baffling behavior at times.

Growing more anxious by the second, he tried to figure out the general direction he needed to go in order to get back outside. Once he was sure of his mental map, he dashed down the tunnel.

A tunnel that led the opposite way from where he wanted to go.

* * *

_'This country,'_ Sarutobi grumbled to himself as he picked his way over bodies and up the slippery slope. _'is far too wet for my tastes. It's no wonder Tsunade was so angry with me when she returned from here.' _He'd already had several near slips in the mud and had even managed to splatter mud on his hitae-ate much to his chagrin. He was the God of Shinobi, he wasn't supposed to slip and stumble like a tottering old man!

Pausing near a weakly moving form, Sarutobi bent down to check the fallen Ame nin's hitae-ate, effortlessly snapping his neck when he saw the groove scratched through the center. Standing straight again, he fixed his attention on the lone figure glaring down at him from farther up the slope.

The orange-haired man was the only other living thing in sight, and if the dark cloak with red clouds wasn't enough to identify the man as a "Pein", then the Rinnegan and the excessive amount of metal in his face certainly was. Sarutobi was slightly disappointed that he hadn't found the "original" though. At least then he'd know for sure what unique ability he'd be up against.

"Who are you?" The somewhat heavyset Pein with slicked back hair demanded dully. "You are not one of Hanzo's followers. Which Village do you serve?"

Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow in amusement at the man's tone of voice before letting out a light chuckle. It was almost as if Pein truly expected him to answer simply because he'd demanded it. Young people these days…

Instead, Sarutobi simply settled into a loose stance and replied, "You're right, I am neither a servant of Hanzo, nor do I have any insights into your cause or your motivation. I have no quarrel with you and I truly regret that it has come to this." And he really did. Sarutobi had no desire to fight in any war, let alone the civil war of a foreign country with a history of bloodshed like Ame no Kuni. Particularly when he had dedicated so much effort and so many lives into destroying it. Sadly, as had happened frequently throughout his life, what he _wanted_ to do and what he _had_ to do were two different things.

Pein began to walk slowly towards him with narrowed eyes. "We're both of the same breed then… you came here to spill the blood of my people without care or reason... motives for war do not concern us. Religion, ideology, resources, land, grudges, love, or just because… No matter how pathetic the reason, it's enough to start a war."

Sarutobi had to admit, there was some truth to Pein's words. Sadly, for all the progress humanity had made in Sarutobi's lifetime, many of the same troubles that led Hashirama Senju to seek the path of peace continued to plague the nations even today. Though unlike himself, Pein seemed to possess a rather pessimistic view on life, seeing only the evils of the world rather than the good it had to offer. "You should not be so quick to pass judgment on people." He chided in what Jiraiya often called his "grandpa" tone. "There are many evils in this world, that much is true, but that does not mean there is not good as well, nor does it mean that it is not worth fighting for."

"Who else is there to pass judgment if not God?" Pein asked rhetorically. "The Great Villages are ever bringing war and death to those who have nothing to do with their conflicts. Even now, Konoha wages war with Kumo and for what reason? Why must thousands die and experience pain because of what _one_ man did to _one_ child? This is why God's judgment must be passed on this world, and my judgment is absolute."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at Pein's rants and claims. He'd met more than one egomaniac in his time, but never one who actually claimed-and if Sarutobi was right, _believed_- to be God.

"Let's not pretend that the _current_ Great Shinobi Villages are the _only_ ones to have ever started a war." Sarutobi replied with an uncontrollable hint of derision. He could understand why someone from a nation like Ame no Kuni –a nation that had been used as a battlefield by the Great Nations around it in the past- would hold a grudge against the Great Shinobi Villages, but after forty years of leading Konoha, it had become more than a little irksome to hear people blame _all_ of the world's problems on his Village. "Did Kusagakure not draw first blood against Taki, causing the first war involving two Hidden Villages? Kagerougakure was certainly not a Great Shinobi Village when they used brainwashed suicide bombers to pave the way for their surprise attack against Hotaru no Shi in the years leading up to the Second Great Shinobi War. And as I recall, it was Yugakure that later wiped Kagerou off the map, not one of the Great Shinobi Villages. Did Amegakure not launch the series of raids through the borderlands of Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni that sparked the Second Great Shinobi War? I could go on, but the fact is, there have been just as many, if not _more_ wars started by the so called "minor" Hidden Villages, as have been started by the current _Five_ Great Shinobi Villages."

"This world must feel my pain, understand pain, and accept pain, in order to know pain. Only then, when all have experienced this pain can the chain of hatred be broken and peace brought to the world." Pein lectured dully without a hint of having listened to Sarutobi's words.

Still, he felt the need to at least try to reason with the man. "Why? Why do you feel that only through suffering can the world know peace? You speak of a "chain of hatred" and say that only by experiencing as much pain as you can that chain be broken…yet all you would accomplish would be to bring needless suffering to countless people, people who would _hate_ you for it. How would that bring peace? Do you truly expect that after experiencing the suffering you think they must feel; people will _thank you_ for it?"

"You wouldn't understand God's plan. You are but a mere mortal, and incapable of knowing what God knows." Pein retorted dismissively. "Now, which Village do you serve? They must be made to feel pain for your actions."

"…So how do you expect your "plan" to work if it's something us poor, simple mortals cannot understand?" Sarutobi asked sarcastically. "Perhaps you haven't gotten around to thinking about that part of your grand plan?" Shaking his head, Sarutobi knew there would be no reasoning with this man, simply because the so called "God" had no interest in any opinion save his own.

A seemingly common attitude among powerful shinobi of the past two generations or so. And seeing as how it was those same powerful shinobi who eventually led their Villages or factions, it was little wonder that what slight progress towards peace had been made by previous generations had been slowly slipping away. That hothead Ei certainly came to mind of late when Sarutobi thought of such things.

Focusing on the coming battle and curious as to what he was up against, Sarutobi ran through the seals for one of his many Ninjutsu. As he did so, the earth at his feet churned chaotically, mixing with the rain to become mud. As he clenched his hands in the final seal, a roaring dragon's head rose up from the ground and howled, firing numerous globs of earth the size of a man's head at his opponent. Two seals later, and Sarutobi spit out of tongue of flame, igniting the projectiles as they hurled towards Pein.

Rather than dodging, the chubby Pein simply raised his hands, as if bracing himself to catch something moderately heavy. As the fiery missiles passed between them, the chakra holding the mud and fire together seemed to be drained away, leaving Pein to be struck by loose handfuls of mud and flickering flames, both of which washed off his cloak with no real effect.

"You waste your efforts." Pein lectured in a dull monotone as he brushed off the little mud that remained on his clothing. "No mortal man could ever hope to harm God."

"Fascinating…" Sarutobi murmured as he raised a hand to cup his chin and feeling a craving for his pipe. "You use Fuuinjutsu to suck the chakra away, leaving the base elements of mud and fire behind. Despite the speed with which they move, without the chakra to hold them together, they're essentially harmless. You could probably do the same with almost any Ninjutsu attack."

Seeing Pein's eyes widening slightly in shock at how quickly Sarutobi had broken down his technique, he couldn't help but let out a somewhat sheepish chuckle. "Forgive me; my inquisitive nature gets the better of me some times. Although, if it makes you feel better, people have been known to call _me_ a God from time to time as well." He also very pointedly did _not_ tell him that he'd had over twenty hours to consider the technique based on Hanzo's information. Psychological warfare was a wonderful thing when _you_ were the one using it to screw with an enemy's head.

"…It matters not. God's Judgment is absolute. You will die here, as punishment for inflicting your senseless violence on the world." Pein stated dismissively, as if it were already a forgone conclusion and thus not worth dwelling on.

Drawing a kunai almost absentmindedly, Sarutobi casually nicked his thumb before flinging the kunai over his shoulder into the Ame rebel who had been attempting to sneak up on him. A quick few hand seals later and Sarutobi was slamming his hand on the ground. '_Kuchiyose no jutsu!' _he mentally vocalized, deliberately pumping enough extra chakra into the technique to cause a larger than usual cloud of smoke to signal Enma's arrival.

Ordinarily, Sarutobi would allow his opponents to see Enma, just for the added fear and shock value that anyone who knew of him would feel, before having the Monkey King transform into his staff form. This would often catch even his most powerful enemies' off-guard, allowing him to get in the first –and often last- attack.

This time around, Sarutobi quickly signaled Enma to transform before the smoke had a chance to dissipate. When Sarutobi had Enma elongate out of the smoke –acting as his eyes at the same time- Pein was right where Sarutobi had expected him to be due to the man's arrogant attitude. In the same spot he'd been standing since the conflict began, though this time he appeared to be prepared to drain the chakra out of yet another Ninjutsu attack.

Sarutobi imagined the surprise on the man's face right before Enma collided with his chest was quite amusing. As it was, Enma was little more than a black blur that shot across the ground and slammed into Pein. Sarutobi heard him grunt and the Sandaime's keen hearing could easily decipher it as parts of Pein's body seemed to _explode_ in showers of blood and gore. Enma pushed Pein off his feet and dragged him backwards into the slope of the mountainside, bones shattering from the force of the impact.

As the smoke cloud finally faded away, Sarutobi strode towards the fallen Pein as Enma's staff form retracted back to his usual length. "Amazing…" Enma voice muttered from seemingly nowhere. "He actually survived that blow…I'm fairly certain I hit the Kyuubi softer than that."

"Interesting…" Sarutobi agreed as Pein slowly and jerkily pulled himself out of the small crater and back to his feet. "He doesn't seem to feel any pain from his injuries whatsoever…then again; this isn't really his body, so I suppose it makes sense." He trailed off as Pein suddenly rushed him, throwing Sarutobi off guard as he ducked and weaved around the man's attacks. Although the movements in the man's arms and shoulders seemed strained, it appeared the ordinarily catastrophic damage done to his chest had little effect on his ability to move and fight.

Sarutobi danced backward, managing to avoid the jerky strikes with moderate effort, before slapping one such strike away with his gauntleted arm. That was a bad idea, as walking half crushed corpse or not, Pein hit _hard_, and Sarutobi wasn't as young as he used to be. Shaking his arm to get the feeling back into it, Sarutobi ducked under a haymaker and delivered a one handed thrust of Enma's staff form into Pein's chin. The man's head snapped back with an audible crack, and as Pein stumbled back a step, Sarutobi hurled a brace of shuriken into the man from pointblank range.

Unfortunately, the shuriken seemed to have little effect. Neither did the broken neck. Although, Pein _did_ appear to have some trouble moving his head now.

"What an incredibly annoying enemy." Enma's voice growled from thin air. "Even that oaf Jiraiya would be rolling around in agony after that last blow."

"Jiraiya…" Pein somehow ground out from a shattered jaw. "_Konoha_…once again…once _again_ you bring war to my people…was the Second Great Shinobi War not enough for you? Will you not be satisfied until _all_ of Ame no Kuni is burning rubble, its people butchered and scattered to the winds?"

It was an odd sight to see, a man with no expression speak words of such vitriol and emotion…in such a bland tone of voice. Really, about the only noticeable change was in volume…which was just as odd to hear.

Still, with the knowledge that Pein was an Ame native who lived through the horrors of the Second Great Shinobi War, Sarutobi felt a surge of guilt. Guilt for the part he played in Ame's destruction, and guilt that he was helping to bring conflict to this nation once again, however necessary it might be. Although, considering that Hanzo was the only reason Pein even still _had_ a country, it was rather odd that he was fighting so hard to bring down the man who had kept Ame no Kuni from being swallowed up entirely by the surrounding nations.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when Pein snapped his hand out to the side –accompanied by quite a few crunching noises as bones ground against each other- and a long, dark, sharpened rod of some kind shout out of his sleeve. How he'd managed to conceal it in a sleeve, was something Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder as he sidestepped the man's thrust, then slapping the pseudo blade aside with Enma before whirling and using the other end of the staff to deliver a powerful blow to the side of Pein's head.

As the man was forced into a half turn by the force, Sarutobi twirled Enma's staff form around his body, before landing a bone crushing blow on Pein's left shoulder, finally leaving that arm hanging limp and helpless, though once again the man showed no signs of discomfort or pain.

"Hmm…I suppose that's the solution then." Sarutobi mused as he swung Enma's staff form around himself defensively. "We'll just have to keep breaking parts of him until it becomes impossible for him to move."

Sarutobi couldn't resist grinning as the first sign of worry entered Pein's rippling eyes. "Let's go, Enma!" he called out with a slight chuckle as he darted back towards Pein, who was now struggling to maintain his distance from him.

* * *

Kakashi panted tiredly as he watched the long haired Pein get his hands on yet another of Hanzo's followers. The man let out a terrified shriek and began to struggle just as Pein ripped his hands away from the man's face as if pulling something off of him. The man instantly went silent and collapsed like a puppet with cut strings. '_How does he keep doing that?' _Kakashi wondered angrily and, if he was honest, with a tinge of desperation.

He'd been studying this Pein intently ever since he first made his appearance on the battlefield, killing dozens of Ame shinobi while Kakashi watched on, seeking a weakness to exploit, or at least more information on what exactly Pein was doing. In the end, he'd been forced to step in when Naruto stumbled onto Pein, and Kakashi found himself in a battle that he had no clue how he was going to win.

Oh, he had some idea how to fight an opponent who could hurt you with the slightest touch –something that most Medic-nin and any Hyuuga were capable of- but there was a huge difference between fighting someone who could seal one of your tenketsu with the slightest touch, and someone who could _kill_ you with the slightest touch. Kakashi had been forced to spend most of the fight running from Pein –no easy task considering the man was _far_ faster than Kakashi.

Even with judicious use of his Sharingan and Kawarimi no jutsu, Kakashi would have been dead some time ago if the battle hadn't shifted in their direction. Over a dozen Ame shinobi had thrown themselves at Pein, cries of "death to the traitors!" and "Long live Hanzo-sama!" echoing from them as they threw their lives away with little hesitation. Those who followed them fought just as desperately and as viciously, only with far more terrified screaming and the occasional begging pouring from their lips instead of praises for Hanzo.

Even worse, the man seemingly felt _nothing_. Kakashi had hit him with several kunai, shuriken, and even scored a direct hit with a Doton: Iwa Hashira which should have broken at least a few ribs. All any of that accomplished was attracting Pein's attention. Well, that, and it might have pissed him off, though it was hard to tell with how impassive the guy was.

Feeling his Sharingan eye burning with effort, Kakashi managed to dodge another of Pein's odd grapple like thrusts and retaliated by slapping an explosive tag where his Sharingan told him Pein's arm would be. The moment he felt the tag stick to him, Kakashi ignited it with a surge of chakra and then leapt backwards to escape the explosion.

Even with the predictive abilities of the Sharingan, Kakashi was still only just able to avoid being caught up in the blast, and actually lost his balance from the force of it. Still, he judged that as an acceptable risk, especially since no matter how tough Pein was, there was no way he wouldn't be feeling _that_. Hell, if he was lucky the blast would have torn Pein's arm off, or at least rendered it useless-

"Shit!" Kakashi bit out in panic as Pein emerged from the blast, cut and bleeding but showing no signs of being weakened in the slightest. Stumbling away from Pein's outstretched arms at the last second, Kakashi let out a yelp when the longhaired man closed the distance with seemingly little effort, arms lashing out in yet another attempt to grip his head.

Even with his Sharingan, Kakashi couldn't see any way of dodging Pein's grab…save one. Dropping almost boneless to the ground, Kakashi ran through hand signs at a rapid pace, pulling off the quickest Kawarimi in his _life_. Reappearing where one of the fallen Ame ninja had once been, Kakashi pulled himself up halfway, before his eyes widened as he saw Pein charging towards him, already halving the distance between them in the few seconds that had passed since Kakashi performed his escape. Falling back down, Kakashi once more ran through seals, his Sharingan eye showing him only one scenario that didn't end in his imminent death.

"Doton: Dorou Doumu!" Kakashi cried out as he put every ounce of will and strength into the technique that he could. Just before Pein could reach him, a solid barrier of earth rose up around Kakashi, leaving him safely imprisoned within. Panting at his close call, Kakashi carefully pulled himself up to a kneeling position without releasing the final hand seal, only to jerk back as if struck, while the earthen barrier around him shook as if under immense pressure.

"What the hell!?" Kakashi stammered just before being wracked by pain as the earth around him trembled just before a fist broke through. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Kakashi growled in disbelief. Bad enough that Pein could kill with a touch, but being strong enough to punch through a solid earth technique like that too? That was just _bullshit_! That would be like _Tsunade_ being able to use the Jyuuken!

As the fist withdrew itself, Kakashi felt a pull on his chakra as the technique automatically drained chakra from him in order to repair itself. That was the Dorou Doumu's function after all, and was something that didn't really need any outside control from the user. And that was the problem. Kakashi was the user, and Kakashi was _inside_ it instead of being outside as intended. Which meant that the technique was automatically siphoning chakra off of him in order to repair itself. Even worse, Kakashi had to maintain focus to keep the technique active, which kept Pein from killing him, but also left him effectively trapped by his own technique.

Snarling at the stupidity of utilizing the Dorou Doumu the way he had, Kakashi began force feeding his chakra into the earthen dome, thickening the walls repeatedly –and slowly sinking lower as the required earth was pulled up from beneath him- in an attempt to buy himself time to figure out how to escape. If he released the seal, the barrier would simply crumble away, so he'd have to move quickly if he was going to get away from Pein before the barrier collapsed.

* * *

Hanzo walked calmly through the chaos, not even needing to pay attention to the fighting shinobi around him. It was to be expected of course. Before Pein, no one within Ame no Kuni had _dared _try to attack Hanzo, and no one _outside_ Ame no Kuni had dared since the end of the Second Great Shinobi War. As such, none of the rebels had the stomach to face him if they could avoid it.

So it was child's play for him to move through the battle in search of the one he'd killed once before, the one he intended to kill once again. Besides, orange hair and a face full of metal piercings weren't exactly subtle. It went even faster considering that Pein was searching for him as well.

The two stared at each other stoically, each ignoring the sounds of battle around them as easily and nonchalantly as they did the rain that poured down on them. There were no words exchanged between them at this stage. There was nothing left to be said anymore, not after all of the battles they'd fought against each other. But there _was_ the obvious bloodlust between them, that intense desire to see the other dead by their hands.

There was no posturing or threats to prelude the battle, just Pein suddenly raising his hand, and Hanzo felt himself being tugged off his feet and dragged towards the Rinnegan user. Pein was just beginning to draw one of those chakra rods of his when the ground in between them exploded as a giant salamander rose up to catch Hanzo.

"Good job, Ibuse." Hanzo rasped calmly. "You know what to do." And the great salamander _did_ know what to do. They'd fought this particular Pein on more than one occasion after all. Ibuse quickly expelled a cloud of toxic poison. It wouldn't have any effect on Pein, but it _would_ kill most of Pein's followers in the general area.

This was particularly effective since most if not all of Pein's followers refused to wear the respirators that so many of Hanzo's shinobi wore. The fools thought they were making a _statement_ by doing so, forgetting that Hanzo's shinobi didn't wear those respirators in honor of him; they did it because they were _afraid_ of him and his poisons. Most of those few Ame shinobi who didn't wear them, were members of Hanzo's personal guard, who both knew to avoid Hanzo's poisons, and wouldn't _dream_ of implying they would fight back should Hanzo desire their deaths. _That_ was the extent of their loyalty to him.

Pein of course, remained completely unaffected, even as his followers gasped and choked in agony around him. Hanzo's own men didn't hesitate to move through the cloud to strike those few who escaped the poisonous fumes, before moving on in search of other traitors to kill.

"I always found it interesting." Hanzo rasped conversationally as he waited patiently for Pein to make his move. "For a man who claims to hate me and everything I stand for, who wants to "save" Amegakure from my "tyranny", you show as little regard for the lives of your followers as you do for mine. Have you perhaps, had a change of heart…Yahiko?"

"One such as you could not possibly comprehend the motivations of God. Rest assured, once you've felt God's pain, you will understand all that you need to, before passing from this world." Pein intoned from directly behind him.

Hanzo was already moving before the rebel had opened his mouth, turning and knocking aside the chakra rod thrust with his kusari-gama even as he was bringing the weighted chain around to smash Pein's head in. As expected, the weight never connected, as Hanzo was driven off of Ibuse by Pein's technique. Same as always. A quick Kawarimi with a nearby corpse and Hanzo was the attacking from behind; lashing out with a quick slash of his kusari that he doubted would actually hit Pein.

His doubts were proven correct as the annoying rebel leaped forward, twisting in the air so that by the time he landed, his hand was already outstretched towards Hanzo. "Shinra Tensei!" Pein uttered coldly as Hanzo once again felt himself being pulled off his feet and dragged towards the arrogant boy. As he was pulled forward, Hanzo almost lazily spun kusari by the chain, utilizing his unique skill with the weapon to send the poison coated sickle arcing in at Pein's skull, forcing the so-called God to block with that odd chakra rod of his.

Snorting to himself at the boy's predictability, Hanzo simply eased his grip on the chain, allowing the sickle to travel just far enough that it was the chain that struck the chakra rod, simple physics taking care of the rest as the sickle and half a foot of chain wrapped around the rod several times, just as Hanzo gave a mighty heave.

And Pein or Yahiko or whatever the hell he was, was too slow to release the rod, leaving him rocketing forward off balance. That was all he needed though, and Hanzo quickly leapt forward as Pein's technique dissipated, holding his hand up in a random seal just to keep Pein's attention.

_One._

It said something about the kind of life Hanzo had lived that he didn't smirk or gloat or anything similar when his plan came together, Ibuse erupting partway from the ground to clamp his jaws about Pein's legs, leaving the fool unable to avoid Hanzo as he came rushing in. Then again, most shinobi don't tend to live to be his age, and those that do tend to be among the most dangerous. Young fools like Pein on the other hand, tended to be more…careless, especially if they're powerful.

_Two._

Simultaneously pulling his kusari back to him while whipping the weighted chain around Pein's neck; Hanzo practically sneered when Pein actually tried to get an arm up between his neck and the chain now wrapping around it. Had Hanzo been in his place, he would have ignored the chain in order to focus on the more pressing threat of the man _wielding _it, particularly when one considered Pein's rather unique abilities and impossibly high pain tolerance. As it was, all the orange haired man accomplished was having his arm trapped against his neck by the chain as Hanzo darted past and twisting to put all of his considerable weight and strength into pulled the chain taut.

_Three._

"Fool…" Hanzo rasped more or less to himself as he drove his sickle through the side of Yahiko's head before the five seconds the boy required to reutilize his technique was up. "You should have known better than to try to take me on by yourself. Especially when I've been fending _four _of you off at the same time for the last few weeks…" Deliberately wrenching the sickle back and forth as he extracted it from Pein's skull, Hanzo took a moment to reflect on how he'd been spending his life lately.

For some time now Hanzo had been…lacking. No, that wasn't quite the right word for it…he had been…tired, disillusioned, and though he didn't care to admit it –even to himself- careless. Oh, he'd secured Ame no Kuni's borders, and Amegakure itself was a veritable fortress, almost impenetrable. On top of that, he'd moved swiftly to crush every sign of rebellion, forced every splinter group, every rogue band of Samurai, even every bandit had been pressed back into the fold. But Hanzo knew he'd made a mistake.

He'd grown more paranoid certainly, but at the same time, he'd become _complacent_. Hanzo had long since become one of the most security conscious people on the continent; he could sniff out a conspiracy or whispers of rebellion with ease. But he'd let himself fall for the greatest trap of all, one that had destroyed many a great shinobi over the centuries. He'd allowed himself to think he was unbeatable. And while he'd been so busy maintaining his hold on Ame no Kuni and keeping any foreign enemies at bay while sniffing out the domestic ones, Hanzo had allowed his skills to deteriorate.

It was a gradual slippage, not something anyone was liable to notice overnight. But slowly, as his excuses for not training one day because he was tired, or because he had to leave early the next morning, or because he just could quite seem to find the time, turned into a fear of ambushes or assassination attempts if he tired himself out with a good day of training, the lack of training was beginning to build. It was beginning to show as he skills ever so slowly deteriorated one day at a time. Not by a great deal certainly, but he shuddered to think at how weak he might have grown had Yahiko's corpse not shown up to haunt him.

Hanzo hadn't felt any real fear at first, not even when the so called "Pein" fought his way through Hanzo's private residence to face him head on. After all, what did he have to fear? He was Sanshouo no Hanzo. He had killed thousands, had made kage level shinobi into legends simply by sparing their lives, he had even gone up against _three_ of the Great Villages at the same time and still managed to keep his country alive. What did he have to fear from one man? Albeit, one of the stranger men he'd ever met, what with those eyes and all of those piercings, but still just a man.

When Pein had blasted him through a wall with that Shinra Tensei of his, Hanzo had been surprised to say the least. He'd never even heard of such a technique before, and in addition to Pein's resilience and durability, Hanzo found himself actually _working_ to defend himself. It was a sobering moment for the old legend, but after several harrowing minutes of being flung back and forth like a ragdoll, he'd finally figured out the limitations of Pein's odd technique, not to mention that with the exception of the eyes and piercings, "Pein" looked _exactly _like Yahiko, one of those three traitors he'd teamed up with Danzo Shimura to wipe out.

That was impossible of course, seeing as how Yahiko was dead, but the resemblance was uncanny. Between the shock of fighting a dead man and the confusion of the strange techniques used against him, it was entirely possible that Hanzo might have been killed that day. Luckily, Pein spent _far_ too much time pontificating about "God's plan this" and "God's will that", rather than just _killing_ him while he had the elements of surprise on his side.

Rather than face defeat, Pein had retreated once Hanzo found his stride again, and other than making a note to hunt down and kill the piercing obsessed man –and to get back into training again- Hanzo had more or less put the event out of his mind. When Pein eventually returned, Hanzo had believed himself ready to dispose of the threat to his Village and country with minimal effort…except there were two of them this time.

A little more wary of the newcomer –who had the same orange hair, same strange eyes, and a similar obsession with facial piercings- Hanzo had moved in for the kill. Imagine his surprise when the new man –who also referred to himself as "Pein"- demonstrated a strange ability completely different from the ones "Yahiko/Pein" possessed. Even odder was how completely in tune with each other the two were, always fighting perfectly to cover each other's blind spots and openings, attacking in perfect synchronization, even communicating without so much as a gesture.

The only new weakness he spotted between the two was that the new "Pein" was oddly protective of the "Yahiko/Pein" though Hanzo had been unable to figure out why before killing the newcomer and driving the "original" off. The pattern was more or less set after that. The original "Yahiko/Pein" would return periodically with first one, then two, and then three different "Peins". And with each new Pein came new abilities, new tactics, and Hanzo found himself increasingly on the defensive.

It was a wakeup call, one that Hanzo immediately took advantage of. He shuddered to think what would have happened if _all_ of the Peins had come for him that first time. They likely would have succeeded in killing him, and with him, any chance of Ame no Kuni's survival. So in retrospect, while Pein had been a fool to not press his advantage the first time, Hanzo was incredibly glad that the Pein's always spent so much time going on about how they were bringing "God's judgment" down on him.

* * *

Naruto crept through the winding tunnels as silently as he could, still failing to make any sense of where he was or where he was going. He hadn't so much as _seen_ a suggestion of _any_ kind of human life since killing that young rebel well over half an hour ago. If he didn't know better, Naruto would assume he'd somehow stumbled into one of the Summon's Realms or something similar, it was so quiet.

Even worse, Naruto found he couldn't stop worrying about Tsunade. Which made very little sense, considering that she was _far _above him in terms of…well…just about _everything_ when it came to the shinobi arts.

Yet no matter how hard he tried to push his concern to the back of his mind, he couldn't stop thinking that he _needed_ to find Tsunade, that he had to make sure she was alright even if it killed him. Which, aside from being irrational, was a borderline _treasonous _thought. Naruto knew full well just how much the Hokage was counting on him to protect Konoha, and to even think of throwing that all away because he couldn't stop worrying about Tsunade, one of the Sannin, not to mention one of the strongest kunoichi in the _world_, was the height of foolishness.

Yet even the thought of disappointing Danzo-sama –something that Naruto would rather _die_ than do- wasn't enough to make him concentrate on the mission rather than pointlessly worrying about Tsunade.

Kicking a small rock in frustration, Naruto almost missed the strange sound it made when it collided with the wall. Frowning, he glanced around in the general direction the rock had flown, trying to place the sound that he'd heard. It almost sounded like…paper ripping?

Confused, Naruto moved closer to the wall, trying and failing to spot where the rock had landed. It should be somewhere in this general area but there wasn't a single rock in sight. Now feeling distinctly paranoid, Naruto crouched down by the wall and carefully ran his hand over it, searching for anything that was out of place. He found it almost immediately. Despite looking _exactly_ like the wall of an underground tunnel carved inside a cave, the wall didn't _feel_ anything like rough stone or earth of any kind. In fact, it felt like…paper?

'_What the hell is this?'_ Naruto wondered as he ran his hands lower over the wall, soon coming across a hole that was about the same height as the rock he had kicked. Bending over further, Naruto cautiously peered through the hole, finding a whole other cave system on the other side. '_Who uses paper to hide something like this? A Doton Jutsu would work far better.' _Naruto wondered to himself as he debated his options. On the one hand, he was alone, and had no idea _what _exactly was waiting on the other side of this fake wall. On the other hand, you didn't usually hide something unless it's important in some way. You especially didn't go to the trouble of hiding it with _paper_ unless it really _was_ important.

'_Not like I have any better ideas…'_ Naruto murmured to himself as he slowly and carefully tore the small hole in the wall wider, until he was able to slip through without being _too_ obvious. Once through, Naruto carefully moved over the oddly even cave floor to crouch behind a large boulder. Pausing for a moment to make sure he hadn't been detected by anyone, Naruto slowly peeked over the boulder to see…nothing. The tunnels were completely devoid of any life other than himself.

Glancing back at the wall he'd passed through, Naruto began muttering curses under his breath. The paper wall on _this_ side looked the same as on the _other_, which was to say, like solid rock. Which meant, there was a very real possibility that the cave systems he'd just left, might well be the hidden one and these new caverns and tunnels might be a random cave system.

"Damn it! Now what do I do?" Naruto growled to himself as he glanced back and forth between the paper wall and the newly discovered tunnels. On the one hand, he knew that there _had _been Ame shinobi from both factions somewhere in those tunnels. At the same time, Naruto had been completely lost over there, and he didn't actually _know_ what was on this side. Maybe he should take a look around to see if he could find anything that would help him decide one way or the other? Shrugging, Naruto moved away from the boulder and moved deeper into the tunnels.

'_At this rate, the damn war will be _over _by the time I get out of here.' _Naruto mentally grumbled to himself some time later. '_Four years of training, and I never got taught how to navigate underground…unbelievable. I mean, we _just _got done fighting a major war against Iwa, and they _specialize _in fighting underground and shit. You'd think Konoha would have _tons _of techniques and strategies for fighting in caves and tunnels, yet I don't know _one_. Talk about ridiculous-'_

"What's wrong, Nagato?" A voice echoed from up ahead, causing Naruto to stumble to a halt before quickly pressing himself against the wall and going still.

"The battle is not going well, Konan." A second voice replied with a displeased tone. "You're spies in the Village must have been compromised once again, given their lack of warning about Hanzo's pending assault."

Hardly daring to breathe, Naruto slowly slinked down the tunnel towards the voices. From the sounds of it, the stoic female voice was some sort of spymaster for the Ame rebels, which meant that Naruto had at the very least stumbled across a high ranking rebel. Possibly even their command center if he was extremely lucky.

"It's not the first time our spies have failed to give us warning." Konan replied without much concern. "What is so troubling about it this time?"

"…Jiraiya-sensei is fighting alongside Hanzo's men." Nagato's voice replied with a grim heat in his voice, getting a startled gasp from Konan at the revelation.

Naruto almost gave out a startled gasp of his own hearing the rebel addressing the Sannin as "sensei". What the hell were a couple high ranking Ame rebels doing addressing Jiraiya as such? More importantly, what the hell was Jiraiya thinking if he actually taught a couple of Ame shinobi?

"Why would Jiraiya-sensei be helping Hanzo? Why would he even return to Ame no Kuni after all these years?" Konan asked disbelievingly. "Surely _Hanzo_ didn't send for him. That tyrant would never allow the lockdown to deteriorate enough for the other nations to learn of our war."

"I don't know." Nagato gritted out as Naruto edged up against the entrance to the chamber their voices were coming from. "All I know is that he's keeping my Animal Path from moving to engage Hanzo. And he's not the only one."

Naruto resisted the urge to peer out from behind his cover at the silence that followed, though he assumed Konan must have been giving Nagato a disbelieving look of some kind. Naruto was more than a little confused himself. What the hell was an… animal path? And how the hell could he know what Jiraiya was doing? Was there an exit or some kind of observation post nearby?

"There are two others, both Konoha shinobi who are fighting me as well. The old man has almost completely outmatched my Preta Path." Nagato explained with something like frustration in his voice. "And the other –while no match for my Human Path- has been able to delay me from joining my Deva Path against Hanzo. That my Human Path is the furthest of my Paths from Hanzo is only compounding the problem. At this rate, I may lose Deva before I can get the others to Hanzo."

"Can't you have Deva retreat and draw Hanzo towards the other Paths? Or use Animal Path to summon him away from Hanzo? That was the original plan when you split up your Paths after all." Konan asked with the first real emotion in her voice. Anxiety. "If we don't do something, Deva will be destroyed!"

"I know that!" Nagato spat angrily. "But the only thing I could do is summon him away, and Jiraiya isn't exactly an amateur. I'm barely holding my own against him!"

'_What the hell!'_ Naruto frowned in utter confusion. '_I can't make heads or tails of this guy.'_ Was "Nagato" actually some kind of clone or something? How could he possibly know how all of these "Paths" of his were doing in the battle?

"Then I'll go." Konan said resolutely, seeming to have regained her stoicism. "I'll go distract Jiraiya-sensei enough for you to summon the other Paths, and then you can go deal with Hanzo once and for all."

"Be careful, Konan. We're too close to victory for you to be lost now." Nagato ordered sternly as Konan's footsteps moved towards Naruto's position.

He hesitated for a split second, before deciding that he wanted no part of a fight with a woman who thought she could "distract" Jiraiya. Especially not when he was alone and she had back up nearby. Quickly scurrying back down the tunnel to hide among the shadows, Naruto only caught the tail end of Nagato's parting words. "…show no mercy." Then a blue haired woman in the same kind of black cloak as the orange haired man Naruto had seen outside stepped out into the tunnels and quickly strode away from Naruto's position and further into the tunnels.

As he waited for the woman to get out of sight, Naruto pondered what to do next. If he followed Konan, she'd probably lead him to an exit, where he could consider ambushing her and finding his way to link up with friendly forces. Or he could follow her to Jiraiya, then ambush her and help the old pervert with that "Animal Path" thing.

On the other hand, the room she'd just left was either a command center of some sort, or at least had a high ranking rebel of some kind or other inside. Naruto debated the issue for a moment, before coming to a decision. Reaching into his kunai pouch, he pulled out most of his exploding tags and attached them to a single kunai. Once that was done, he carefully crept back to his original position next to the entrance to the room. Listening carefully, Naruto glanced around the corner, ready to throw his explosive laden kunai at the first sign of discovery, only to blink at what he saw.

It was a large room, seemingly carved out of the rock around it, but that wasn't what held his attention. It was the single man within. If the emaciated corpse could actually be called a man. The redhead within was…_attached_ to some kind of…chair or throne or whatever the hell it was, from the waist down. The thing stood on four legs and gave the illusion of greater height to the withered man within, who seemed to be leaning forward and bracing himself on the construct, as if tired or battling exhaustion. Of course, the half dozen giant metal rods sticking out of his back might have had something to do with it as well.

Naruto had to bite back a curse as the cripple within squeezed his eyes shut as if concentrating on something that Naruto either couldn't see, or just plain didn't understand. Killing this guy, however important he may be to the Ame rebels, was like killing a coma patient. There was nothing he could do to defend himself. And like a coma patient, you didn't use a fist full of exploding tags on a guy like this. That would be complete overkill. Sighing resignedly, Naruto pocketed his kunai and drew his kodachi in its place as he stepped away from the wall. A quick kunai to the skull, and Naruto could try to catch up with "Konan" before she got too far away.

"Who are you?" Konan's voice came from Naruto's immediate left. Jumping in shock, Naruto whirled around to see the stoic woman's _paper-mâché head_ growing out of the wall just inches from Naruto's face.

"Shit!" Naruto yelped in shock as he quickly stepped back and tried to cut the woman's head in half with his kodachi.

The woman didn't even blink, merely breaking apart into a wave of individual sheets of paper that Naruto's kodachi didn't even touch as the paper parted around the blade before reforming and surging out of the wall and crashing into Naruto's torso, propelling him off his feet and sending him careening into the room. Losing his grip on the sword, Naruto thrashed desperately as the paper continued to surge around him, wrapping him from neck to toe in a cocoon before he'd even hit the ground. "What the hell is this?!" Naruto growled in fear as the cocoon held him immobilized despite his best efforts.

Then he let out a startled scream as Konan's head formed out of the paper covering his chest, rising up on a stalk of papers so she could stare him in the face. Naruto didn't consider himself to be a coward or scared easily, but damn that was freaky as hell!

"…Another Konoha shinobi…" Konan murmured with a hint of disgust. "Why can't you people just _leave our county alone?"_

Naruto didn't even have a chance to consider answering the woman's largely rhetorical question, as the paper cocoon began to constrict around him, quickly leaving him gasping and struggling to draw breath into a chest that couldn't expand in the slightest. Naruto tried to thrash around to give himself even a second's breathing room, but the paper didn't give in the slightest no matter how hard Naruto struggled. Panicking, Naruto let out a breathless groan as he _felt _more than heard his ribcage begin to creak dangerously.

Throughout it all, Konan just stared at him coldly, not a hint of remorse on her face as she crushed Naruto to death in a deliberately slow fashion. That he was to all appearances just a child didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

His lungs burning and his chest on the verge of collapsing, Naruto's futile struggles slowed and then ceased altogether as his thoughts grew fuzzy and the world darkened before his eyes.

…

…

Then he got angry and decided, _fuck subtlety!_ Focusing the last of his waning concentration, Naruto reached deep within himself to that familiar, dark power that was the reason for his existence. And then he threw the gates as wide open as he could. The Kyuubi's chakra flooded through his body like a tidal wave, filling Naruto with a strange combination of joy and disgust as the corrosive power simultaneously made his stomach roil and made him feel like he'd spent most of his life with only four of his five senses. The sense of completion as colors were suddenly brighter, the air suddenly sweeter and the feel of the paper around him suddenly so much more vivid was intoxicating.

The Kyuubi's chakra compressed in on itself within Naruto's chakra system, and then surged out of his chakra points and surrounded his body, corroding the paper closest to his body and forming a thin silhouette.

Even as the closest layer of paper was blackening and shriveling in on itself, the rest of the paper and Konan's head surged away from Naruto, allowing him take a desperately needed gasp of air, feeling his ribcage protest even as he painfully pulled himself to his knees. Looking up as the silhouette of visible red chakra grew a pair of fox like ears and a single tail, Naruto grinned darkly as he caught the visible grimace on Konan's face as she reformed from out of the flurry of individual sheets of paper.

"That _hurt_ you sadistic _bitch!_" Naruto growled as he clenched and unclenched his fists to get a feel for his new claw like fingernails. He really hoped the corroding of the first few layers of paper had hurt the woman, who had been _deliberately_ drawing his death out just to satisfy whatever hatred the kunoichi had for Konoha.

"A Jinchuuriki…here?! But why would…" Konan muttered to herself in shock and an undertone of fear that Naruto's ears easily picked up with the amount of the Kyuubi's chakra surging through his veins. He also picked up the fear in her eyes when she glanced at Nagato, specifically fear for the emaciated man's safety.

'_Well, I guess I know how important the walking…er _sitting _corpse is.' _Naruto mused to himself as he surged forward in her moment of distraction. '_I'll have to remember to deal with him after I'm done with her!' _Naruto leapt a few feet in the air so his fist would come down on Konan's head, knowing from his training with the Kyuubi's chakra that the kunoichi would be unlikely to get back up from such a blow for a minute or two. Plenty of time to finish her off, as well as to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra before any other Ame rebels could arrive, allowing him to escape uncontested.

Just as he began his descent, the woman's eyes snapped back to his, filled with a grim resolve as paper wings emerged from her back to bat Naruto aside. The paper immediately began to corrode as it came into contact with Naruto, causing Konan to grimace again and abort most of the force behind the strike. Still, the blow was enough to push Naruto aside so that his fist met the stone floor of the cavern, cratering the ground and sending rock shrapnel flying from the force of his blow.

Snarling, Naruto once again began to charge the kunoichi, who was now hovering a foot or so off the ground as her wings beat slowly, discarding the damaged and corroding papers as they did so. As Naruto closed the distance between them, Konan's wings suddenly surged forward, dozens of pieces of paper separating and flying towards him as accurately as any shuriken. Instinctively skidding to a halt, Naruto quickly reversed his momentum and leaped back just in time as the paper projectiles pierced the ground as if they _were_ shuriken and the stone floor made of paper.

Growling, Naruto retaliated with several shuriken of his own, only to be forced to dodge backwards once again as another wave of paper projectiles knocked the shuriken and pierced the ground where Naruto had been standing. Naruto snarled in frustration and quickly leapt back again as more of the paper projectiles flew at him. _'I need to distract her somehow…' _Naruto thought as he continued dodging Konan's projectiles. If this kept up for too long, rebel reinforcements were sure to start pouring in, using the Kyuubi's chakra like a beacon. Glancing towards Nagato, Naruto quickly cobbled together a plan.

Opening himself to even more of the Kyuubi's chakra –a second tail growing from the shroud of visible chakra surrounding him- Naruto reversed his momentum and darted forward and under the latest volley of paper shuriken, and was rushing past Konan before she could react to his sudden increase in speed.

Naruto couldn't resist grinning victoriously as he drew closer to the unmoving Nagato. Sure, a part of him felt bad about targeting a cripple, but the guy was obviously an important part of the rebel's leadership and as such was fair game. And considering that the two seemed to be friends, his death would enrage Konan, hopefully making her reckless. Still, the least he could do was make it quick. Drawing a kunai, Naruto prepared to throw it into the redhead's skull, intending to spin and reverse his momentum to get in close with that bitch Konan before she could stop chasing him.

Just as he drew back his arm, Nagato's eyes suddenly snapped open and glared at him, just before a dark metal rod shot out from the base of the man's throne. Surprised, Naruto stumbled to the side; almost managing to avoid the projectile altogether, save for where it grazed his arm.

Unfortunately, that was all it took, as the moment the strange metal broke his skin, Naruto felt everything just _stop_. The Kyuubi's chakra was simply gone as if it had never been, his _own_ chakra didn't even circulate through his chakra network, his _heart _didn't _beat_ and the _blood _in his _veins_ ceased to flow and his lungs froze up. Naruto couldn't even catch himself as he collapsed like a puppet with all of its strings cut, and Naruto felt a distinct moment of sheer terror as Nagato glared at him with gray eyes with concentric rings and Konan drew closer to him from behind, her blood lust and fury hanging so heavily in the air that Naruto could practically taste it.

And then the Goddamn _wall_ exploded.

* * *

**Translations:**

Hotaru no Shi=City of Fireflies(saw this name on a fanmade wiki site that I can't find or remember, thought the name sounded catchy. Which would be better, Hotaru no Shi or Hotarunoshi?)

Kuchiyose no Jutsu=Summoning Technique

Iwa Hashira=Rock Pillar(Could have sworn there was an actual technique like this but couldn't find it)

Dorou Doumu=Earth Dome Prison

Shinra Tensei=Divine Judgment

Did I miss any?

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**AN:**

Writing Pein was rather difficult, both the way he talks, as well as the way he would fight when unable to use all of his bodies in sync. Hopefully, I didn't do too terrible a job. As for the outcomes of those fights, I honestly feel that Pein was as unstoppable as he was in canon _because_ he had six bodies that worked in perfect sync with one another. On top of that, I see Pein's bodies as being pretty strong and fast physically, and seeing as how they're dead bodies, unable to feel pain. All of these things combined made Pein damn near unbeatable. Split him up however, and more importantly know something about his abilities, and I can see him being far easier to bring down.

As always, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as are any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Peace, Vaan.


	8. Chapter 8

**Words-70951, Chapters-7, Reviews-102, Hits-31746, C2s-19, Fav-217, Alerts-245**

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**AN:** Special thanks go out to Hygieia for proofing this, so if you find something wrong, BLAME HIM! Just kidding, seriously, he really helped me out. Special thanks also go to Kenchi618 for giving me some great advice that helped with a fight scene that was giving me all kinds of headaches. If you haven't read any of his works, I'd recommend Sealed Kunai. One of my top favorites that's actually still being updated. Also special thanks to Kagaseo, who's been a fantastic sounding board for me to bounce ideas off of for this fic.

Now, as much as I'd like to say that updates for this story will be regular...they won't. I've got _maybe_ five more chapters worth written up for this, but between working on just Reckoning and Specialist, I'm having a hard time making enough progress to update both every month or so. Trying to do twice a month or more is...probably not going to happen. Not unless I take another year long hiatus to work on them anyway. And that's not even mentioning any other plot ideas I come up with. So for now expect an update once a month or so.

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed despite nearly two years of inactivity. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. As always, all reviews/criticism is welcomed. So, without further ado, I give you chapter 8 of Naruto: the Reckoning.

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This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier.

Summary: A single moment's hesitation during the Kyuubi attack changed everything. Now as the world rushes towards war, a new order begins its rise.

* * *

'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

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**Reckoning chapter 8**

Tsunade was known for many things. Her prowess with Iryojutsu alone was so great –as well as the fact that she _created_ so many of them- that many considered her to be the mother of modern medicine. Likewise, her _atrociously _bad luck when it came to gambling was almost as well known, including that ridiculous nickname people insisted on calling her –and then the bastards had the _gall_ to be _surprised_ that she noticed the double entendre that came with being called the "Legendary Sucker".

People also knew her for being a member of Team Sarutobi, which that bastard Hanzo had gone ahead and changed to the Densetsu no Sannin. Her heritage as the "Last of the Senju" and Hashirama's granddaughter was common knowledge. And while it bothered her _immensely_ to think about it, Tsunade knew her larger than average bust size was also fairly well known.

And yet, so many people often forgot that before she was one of the legendary three shinobi who had stood up to Hanzo and lived, before she was the medical prodigy responsible for countering every single one of Suna's many poisons, before she racked up a losing gambling streak _miles_ long…she was singlehandedly killing Iwa, Suna, Kusa, and Ame shinobi by the _scores._

"Teppodama no Jutsu!" a hapless Ame rebel half screamed as Tsunade caved in his comrade's skull before snapping an arm out and _punching_ the bullet of water before if traveled more than a few inches from his mouth. The high velocity bullet _exploded_ back into his face, pelting him with droplets of water moving fast enough to pit _stone_. Needless to say, the Ame rebel was far too distracted to try to dodge Tsunade's kick –his only option since blocking one Tsunade's blows was generally a _terrible_ idea- which connected to his side and shattered his spine from the force. If that hadn't killed him, the collision with the cave was certainly would have done it, the impact leaving him looking quite similar to a squashed bug.

With a control that came only from a complete understanding of one's body –not to mention years of rigorous training- Tsunade reversed the momentum of her leg and brought it crashing down into the knee of a Genjutsu enshrouded rebel, causing his leg to fold in a _very _unnatural way. Not that the bearded Chuunin had time to even realize what had happened –or even finish collapsing- before Tsunade's other foot snapped up and caught him in the chin, introducing the man's lower jaw to the inside of his skull, and actually _tearing_ his head mostly off.

Tsunade might have felt some stirrings of guilt as she surveyed the corpse ridden passageway –as really, none of these poor bastards had possessed even a _sliver_ of a chance against her- except for one thing which overruled any sympathy she might possess for these brave fools. Hell, she wouldn't bat an eye at burning down a hospital with the patients still inside due to the terrifying fact that she _didn't know where her son was._

It was that horrible day when Naruto was scooped off the battlefield by that bastard Danzo all over again, with all the anguish and terror, and heart wrenching pain somehow made worse by the fact that this time Tsunade was able to search for her baby boy, and was failing to find him no matter how many Ame rebels she killed. And Tsunade had never reacted well to fear, and when something _did_ make her afraid, she tended to lash out violently at whatever it was that she held responsible.

"…Holy sh-IT! Friendlies, friendlies!" a teenage Ame kunoichi began to murmur only to end with an echoing shriek as Tsunade whipped around and closed the distance between her and the group of Ame loyalists before the woman had even finished the first syllable.

Leveling a scathing look at the cringing moron –she was perfectly capable of making out their hitae-ate _before_ she approached them, hence why they weren't already dead- Tsunade said, "I'm looking for the foreign child from my team. Have you seen him? He has blue eyes and blond hair that he covers with his hitae-ate, as well as adorable birthmarks on his cheeks. You'd remember if you saw him."

The woman exchanged confused looks with her compatriots –none of whom looked old enough to shave- before hesitantly answering. "You're the only foreigner we've seen since entering the caves. Err, Hime-sama." She hastened to add with a sketchy bow, as if afraid Tsunade might take offense at being addressed so casually.

Tsunade would have rolled her eyes at the kid's foolishness if she were capable of devoting any thought to anything other than finding Naruto and destroying whatever got in her way. As it was, Tsunade had already disregarded the Ame loyalists and had turned to continue down her original path when she caught one of the Ame nin muttering to his companion, "What's someone like _her_ doing looking after a kid?"

Tsunade went stock-still in shock for a moment as the words rang through her mind, sounding far more accusing to her than the Chuunin had likely intended. What the man had meant, had _not_ been that Tsunade was somehow _unfit_ to be Naruto's mother –he didn't even know who she or Naruto _were, _let alone their relationship- but with her own doubts and self-recriminations at having lost Naruto _again_, that's what Tsunade _heard_. And that both terrified and _infuriated_ her. The former because a steadily growing part of her did fear that she wasn't a good mother, having lost Naruto on the day of his birth –even worse that it happened after she consented to have him made into a Jinchuuriki when he was only hours old- having failed to protect him from Danzo and his machinations, failed to prevent whatever had happened to rob Naruto of his earliest memories, and now having lost him in the chaos of a full scale battle. As a result, it didn't take much to make her question herself and her ability to protect her son.

Her fury came because those words filled Tsunade with an irrational certainty that these Ame nin intended to _take_ her son away from her!

Whirling around to glare hatefully at the Ame loyalists –who all flinched back fearfully from her at the fire in her eyes- the lucky kids would never truly know just how close they came to dying because of one errant question. Just as Tsunade took a step forward to end their pathetic lives, they all stiffened at the feeling of a horrifyingly destructive power that even a shinobi with zero talent at chakra sensing could detect. That feeling saved their lives, as while the Ame nin didn't have a clue what it was, Tsunade instantly recognized it, and any thoughts of killing the Ame kids vanished as she bowled them over in her rush towards the source of that dark chakra.

After all, Tsunade's baby must have been in grave danger for him to use so much of that tainted power, and between Tsunade's burning desire to kill _anything_ that made her baby feel so threatened and her equally intense desire to wrap him in a fierce hug and _never _let him go so she'd never lose sight of him again, there was nothing capable of slowing her down. Not the unfortunate Ame rebels who inadvertently found themselves between her and Naruto, not the equally unfortunate loyalists who found themselves being literally run over in her haste, and certainly not the walls that she smashed through one after another in her panic, uncaring of the several cave-ins she left in her wake.

Tsunade almost felt like smiling as she closed in on the feeling of the Kyuubi's corrosive chakra, feeling the fist that had been gripping her heart since she realized Naruto was missing begin to lighten, and a part of her mind planning to give her son such a _scolding_ for making her worry like this. '_Reckless little brat, trying to give his mother a heart attack agai-'_ Tsunade stopped dead as an overwhelming feeling of dread and horror washed over her when the Kyuubi's chakra just disappeared. Not dissipated, or died down, but just _gone_. As if…as if Naruto was…

Tsunade let out a scream of pure anguish and sorrow as she crashed through a final wall on sheer momentum, already feeling her legs beginning to give out as her mind kept showing her images of her son as she realized he was gone, gone, gone, _gone_. And then that scream became one of sheer hatred and raw fury as her eyes fell on the scene of her son's limp form skidding along the floor of the chamber she had entered, just as the dust from her explosive entrance surged forward and concealed her darling son from view. Tsunade also saw the vaguely familiar woman floating in the air between her and her son.

Said woman spun around and flapped her paper wings, sending a dozen paper shuriken spinning towards her. Still screaming in rage, Tsunade's hands whipped out in a blur of motion, smacking the paper projectiles aside save for one, which she grabbed and hurled back at the stoic woman. Snarling furiously when the Ame rebel managed to dodge just enough so that projectile only cut a bloody gash across her cheekbone, Tsunade hurled herself across the chamber with such force that the stone beneath her feet cratered.

The winged kunoichi beat a hasty retreat away from Naruto which might have been what Tsunade wanted, but it did nothing to sooth the enraged Sannin. Hissing like a furious cat, Tsunade didn't even notice the red haired man as she threw herself after Naruto's killer with abandon, no longer caring about anything but ending the one who took her precious baby away from her.

Her first punch missed by a mile, the Ame kunoichi soaring up and away from her with those damnable wings of hers. Even more enraged, Tsunade launched herself up after her, sending another powerful punch towards the paper ninja's head. Once again, the woman soared away, Tsunade's fist missing by bare inches before first cratering, and then collapsing a significant portion of the ceiling.

Against other opponents, this might have been something of a blessing, as chunks of rock rained down around them, more than enough of a distraction to allow Tsunade to close in for the kill. Unfortunately, those wings seemed to allow the Ame kunoichi to dodge almost as well as Tsunade could.

This did nothing to improve her temper. Dodging another volley of paper shuriken, Tsunade began _kicking_ _boulders_ towards the purple hair woman at high speed, screaming in utterly heartbroken _fury_ when only a single boulder actually clipped the murderer of her child. '_Those damn wings!'_ Running through hand seals, Tsunade slammed her hand to the ground as she tracked the winged bitch with her eyes. With a moderate plume of smoke, a Slug that was easily twice her size appeared, eye stalks twitching as the Summon took in the scene.

"Kill her!" Tsunade hissed as she shoved a chakra enshrouded hand towards her Summons, forgoing any of the usual pleasantries she would exchange with her Summons. The Slug seemed to understand, as he didn't say a word as she seemingly drove her hand through it. In reality, he broke apart into a swarm of smaller Slugs, each perhaps twice the size of Tsunade's hand. Then, with her hand inside the mass of Slugs, Tsunade released a burst of wind chakra, sending the Slugs flying in all directions. An old tactic of theirs, as the Slugs each spun to land on their "feet" wherever they landed, be it on the floor, walls, or even the ceiling. Then, they faced the startled Ame kunoichi and began shooting random streams of acid at her from all directions.

The rebel was very good at dodging, particularly while in the air like that. But even she couldn't dodge every single stream. Slowly, the wings began to slow as one by one, holes were burned through them by the acid that found its mark. And while she tried to discard the dissolving paper from her wings to lessen the damage from the acid, with so many streams of acid shooting at her, the holes slowly built up. Especially since she had to concentrate on discarding the "paper" of her body whenever it got hit as well.

Semi-satisfied now that the woman could not move effectively, Tsunade charged in once again, able to dodge the acid with little effort herself what with having used this tactic numerous times and her Slugs going out of their way to avoid hitting her. Leaping into the air, Tsunade delivered a vicious drop kick not on her opponent, but on one of those wings of hers. The strength of Tsunade's kick was more than enough to tear through the weakened limb, sending the bitch plummeting to the ground with Tsunade in hot pursuit. As they landed within mere feet of each other, Tsunade tensed to throw herself at her baby's killer, only for her eyes to instinctively dart to the side at an odd clacking sound.

Peering through the dust and debris, Tsunade went limp; her eyes wide in shock at what met her stare.

* * *

Ignoring the sounds of the large Toads doing battle with a diverse number of Summons around him, Jiraiya stared forlornly up the hill into the Rinnegan eyes of the familiar man he now had no choice but to fight.

"So you've returned, Jiraiya-sensei." The heavily pierced man uttered with unmistakable resentment and anger in his voice.

"Nagato…" Jiraiya whispered in disbelief as he continued to stare up into those unbearably familiar eyes. "Is that really you?" He wanted nothing more than to believe that at least _one_ of his students yet lived, especially one that he had believed would be the Child of Prophecy. At the same time, the thought of finding one of his students alive, only to have to help kill him…

"I see the cycle of the Great Villages continues. Once again, you bring your war and death to Ame no Kuni." Nagato intoned, seemingly ignoring Jiraiya's unspoken plea.

"I had heard that you were dead, that you were all dead." Jiraiya tried again, desperate to know what had become of his students. "What happened to you? Where are Yahiko and Konan? And how did you get mixed up in this civil war?"

"Yahiko?" Nagato asked with a curious tilt of his head, which belied his expressionless face. "…Yes, I believe I once knew a person by that name." He continued, drawing a confused look from Jiraiya which quickly turned to one of pain. "He's been dead for years."

That more than anything let Jiraiya know that Nagato was gone. There was no way the boy who had once weepily confessed to Jiraiya that all that he wanted was to keep Yahiko and Konan safe, would speak of Yahiko's death so calmly, as if discussing the weather. "You've changed, Nagato. You're not the same boy I taught all those years ago." Jiraiya lamented quietly as he stared his former student down. "And what of Konan? What happened to her?"

"You don't need to know that, sensei." Nagato intoned once again as he slammed his hands together. "After all, you're just an _outsider_!" With that Nagato summoned a giant crab and sent it scuttling towards him.

Wincing in resignation, Jiraiya performed his own seals, summoning Gamahiro beneath him. True to form, Gamahiro immediately identified his enemy and drew his two great swords in a downward swing towards the charging crab. In a surprising show of speed, the crabs pincers snapped up to catch the two blades, halting their movement and filling the air with an earsplitting screech as armor like shell met swords. Then Gamahiro promptly used the crab's strong grip as a counterbalance, leaning backwards to lift himself off the ground and delivering a double kick to the crab's "face" with his powerful legs, sending the two Summons flying apart.

Jiraiya used the cover provided by Gamahiro's body to Shunshin away, reappearing closer to Nagato and charging in with a Rasengan. As he rushed forward, Jiraiya managed to remain stable when the crab crashed into the mountainside, mere moments before Gamahiro landed and spun with a horizontal slash, decapitating the giant centipede that had attempted to strike him from behind.

Silently leaping into the air, Jiraiya tried to slam the Rasengan into the back of Nagato's head, only for his old student to spin around at the last second and catch Jiraiya's wrist in a surprisingly strong grip. Rather than attempt to pull away, Jiraiya let his old student deliver a rib cracking kick, before bringing his other hand out from behind his back and driving the second Rasengan through Nagato's still upraised leg, tearing off most of the limb below the knee.

As his onetime student began to collapse, Jiraiya delivered a punishing kick of his own, sending Nagato tumbling helplessly through the air before chasing after him with grim determination. Whatever had happened to Nagato to turn him into this cold man before him, it was Jiraiya's responsibility as his teacher to put an end to him, lest his actions bring untold suffering to countless others. Jiraiya kept repeating that mantra as he closed in on his now crippled student, tears mingling with the ever-present rain as he felt an all too familiar pain grip his heart as he stared into the suddenly dead looking Rinnegan staring back at him.

* * *

Naruto hacked convulsively as a wave of dust and rocks surged through the air around him. '_Wha…what the hell was that?'_ he wondered desperately as he clenched his hands around his mouth and nose in an attempt to filter out some of the dust so he could actually _breathe_. '_Don't tell me _another _one showed up?'_

Still in the grips of the sheer terror of impending death, it took Naruto a moment to realize that he was actually still _alive_. It was only after the shaky realization that Naruto finally took notice of the way the ground kept shaking, or the very familiar voice, causing his heart to soar for a moment as he recognized what that meant. That is, until he picked up on the sheer _pain_ that was at the heart of Tsunade's furious screaming.

With every anguished scream that reached his ears, Naruto felt as if someone was wrapping barbed wire around his heart and _squeezing_ it with each of Tsunade's cries. Cries that Naruto felt should _never_ come from the woman that had been nothing but kind and generous to him for as long as he could remember. Hearing Tsunade in such pain…it _hurt_ Naruto, in a way that he had never experienced before. And then it made him _angry_.

As the dust began to settle, Naruto felt a righteous rage building within him. How _dare _they? How dare they hurt Tsunade? What gave these bastards the right to rebel against their nation? What gave them the right to drag him, and Tsunade into their pointless war? "Dragging us halfway across the continent…and _for what_!?" Naruto murmured to himself as he gathered his feet beneath him.

These…these _people_ had hurt Tsunade…hurt her in a way Naruto had never believed possible. And Naruto _didn't like that._ So he resolved to do something about it. As he rose up into a crouch, Naruto heard a familiar clacking sound from right behind him. Acting without hesitation, Naruto threw himself onto his back just as another on those dark rods shot overhead, reminding him of the emaciated redhead who had somehow brought him down earlier.

Snarling up at the man in his throne like chair and feeling a familiar weight slide into him, Naruto kept his momentum going, and in an impressive display of acrobatics, he rolled up onto his shoulders and threw himself into the air while simultaneously scooping up his kodachi. As he soared up into the air, Naruto twisted his body to land in a crouch on the top of one of the "legs", his kodachi held horizontally in both hands over his shoulder, ready to strike.

Nagato whipped his head around to glare up at Naruto with those strange eyes of his, though whether they were wide because of fear or hatred, Naruto couldn't be bothered to decipher as he brought his blade across from left to right, a savage snarl escaping his lips as Nagato's head separated from his shoulders. To Naruto, there was nothing odd about the man's death.

The man was a cripple, in a group of rebellious shinobi, so he couldn't have been that important in the grand scheme of things. A spymaster or a tactician maybe judging by the conversation he'd overheard, or at best a spiritual leader of some kind to the Ame rebels. Certainly not the rebel's greatest strength and only hope.

Naruto would never know that Nagato had once been believed to be the "Child of Prophecy" that so drove Jiraiya's actions, or that in another life, that near helpless, emaciated man he had so casually killed would have succeeded in his rebellion. That Nagato would have gained full control of his powers and singlehandedly killed not only Hanzo himself, but even his old teacher Jiraiya. Naruto had no inkling of the powerful organization of missing-nin the redhead would have helped build and lead in a vicious blitzkrieg campaign across the Elemental Nations, and even succeeding in bringing the oldest Hidden Village to its knees in devastating defeat.

To Naruto, the guy was just a loose end, a nuisance when all he wanted to do was make the pain in Tsunade's screams go away. He certainly never considered that by killing Nagato, Naruto had all but ended the Ame Civil War.

* * *

Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow as he spotted another orange haired form striking away at a dome of earth. This Pein appeared to be relentless in his assault, and was gradually making progress if the numerous fist sized craters in the earthen barrier were any indication, and yet, considering the unique abilities each Pein was supposed to possess, this one's attempts to bring down the barrier seemed rather…mundane.

Shrugging, Sarutobi shouldered Enma and leapt into the air, hoping this Pein was no faster than the one he'd already defeated. It really would be nice to bring a second of the Peins down without too much effort. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and Sarutobi really wanted to end this fight so he could get out of the rain and sit down for a good long smoke. A nap would be nice too.

Twirling Enma's staff form over his head as he descended on the long-haired man, he prepared to do his best to drive the Pein's head into his chest cavity. So he was rather surprised when the Pein simply collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Landing next to the crumpled form, Sarutobi blinked for a moment, and then brought his staff down to experimentally nudge the still Pein. When the obscenely pierced man didn't react at all, Sarutobi dipped the tip of his staff under the limp body and flipped him over onto his back, and studied the unseeing Rinnegan eyes.

"Well…that was rather anticlimactic…" Sarutobi muttered in surprise as he examined the, for all appearances, dead body. There were no signs of any injuries or any signs of poison use either. How odd. Shrugging to himself, Sarutobi raised Enma's adamantine staff and brought it down on the unmoving Pein's skull with all his might. The orange haired corpse jerked as its skull was shattered by the blow. '_Can't be too careful with these Pein characters after all…'_ Sarutobi thought to himself as he vividly recalled how the chubby Pein _repeatedly_ got back up from blows that would have rendered most other shinobi insensate from pain, or completely numbed by the shock of the trauma.

Examining the mashed pulp that used to be the long-haired Pein's skull, Sarutobi shrugged to himself, before striking a second time, just to be sure. Satisfied, the aged kage dismissed Enma and studied the earth dome critically. The dome was thicker than he was used to seeing by at least six inches, and yet despite that, he could see several holes where the Pein had successfully penetrated the barrier.

One would think that whoever raised this barrier would have used the time it gave them to launch a counterattack, run away, or come up with some kind of plan. Particularly after this Pein began punching holes in it. Unless of course, they were already injured or dying when they created it. Knocking on the side of the dome, Sarutobi called out. "Is there anyone still in there?"

"Sandaime-sama?" An exhausted cry came as the earth dome crumbled away, revealing a kneeling Kakashi. "Thank God you found me." Young Kakashi panted as he spied Pein's corpse and tiredly pulled his hitae-ate down over his Sharingan. "I thought for sure I was finished."

Sarutobi ran a quick eye over Kakashi's slumped form looking for any injuries, before turning back to the crumbled Pein with a slight shrug. "If this one was as skilled as the Pein I faced, then you've done very well for yourself, Kakashi." Sarutobi scanned the area as he continued. "Did you notice if this one possessed some kind of unique skill as well?"

"He could kill with a single touch, Sandaime-sama." Kakashi groaned as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. "Not like the Hyuuga or what the Medic-nin can do, but something different."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. The ability to kill with the slightest touch was a highly coveted skill. After all, that was the reason the Hyuuga clan were such a powerful force during the Hidden Clans era, and why they were granted the title of a Noble clan in Konoha. It was also why those like Kumo were so determined to steal the Hyuuga bloodline. Not so much for the Byakugan's penetrating sight and telescopic vision –though this was still an impressive feat- it was the Byakugan's ability to see chakra and the chakra circulatory system, and with it their ability to use the Jyuuken that was so coveted.

That there was yet another unknown ability of the Rinnegan that was similar to the oh so coveted "kill with a touch", was both fascinating and disturbing. Fascinating because of just how varied and powerful the gifts of the Rinnegan seemed to be. Disturbing because such a powerful and legendary bloodline had cropped up in a nation like Ame no Kuni. Particularly since that meant the bloodline could fall into the hands of one like Hanzo.

'_How does such a bloodline even work?'_ Sarutobi wondered to himself. '_The ability to control bodies of the dead is certainly strange, but they all seem to have the same eyes. Does that mean one could take the eyes from any of these Peins and implant them in a living person?' _If that were the case, then whoever the real Pein is could create an army of Rinnegan users. So perhaps whatever ability that allowed for the replication of the eyes only worked in dead tissue? The only other option seemed even more unlikely…and even more terrifying. Surely this Pein character didn't have access to _other_ Rinnegan users? Such a clan would be terrifying, as would any man capable of bringing them down.

No, no matter what the secrets of the Rinnegan and the mystery behind its sudden appearance, Sarutobi knew one thing above all else. Hanzo could _not_ be allowed to take possession of the Rinnegan.

* * *

Naruto hopped down from Nagato's "throne" without a second glance, drawing deeply on the Kyuubi's chakra as he flicked his kodachi to knock some of the blood off as he strode towards the two battling kunoichi. Naruto had to clamp down on the urge to cackle at how _alive_ he felt as the Kyuubi's power flowed through him, even as he finally noticed how quiet everything suddenly was. In fact, all he could hear were the two kunoichi breathing raggedly, as if caught between the strain of their battle, some kind of shocked gasp, and an increasingly frantic panic.

Looking up, Naruto met Konan's wide, disbelieving eyes and after seeing Tsunade's equally wide, yet rapidly watering eyes, angrily snarled, "Hey bitch! I'm not done with you yet!"

At least, that's what he tried to do. But between his attempt at anger and his desperate attempts to keep from cackling like a maniac, Naruto's voice came out with several oddly high pitches that rose and fell at random intervals. Something he'd become embarrassingly familiar with in seven years or so.

For a moment, the three just stared at each other, Naruto glaring angrily at Konan for apparently not only hurting Tsunade, but actually driving the woman to tears somehow, while the two kunoichi stared at him with varying looks of shock or disbelief. Then the agonized screaming of pain and rage returned, though Naruto remained unsympathetic now that those screams were coming from Konan instead of Tsunade.

The Ame rebel didn't even bother to utilize her flight ability as she simply charged across the chamber towards, him, pure hatred radiating from her as she drew an actual kunai.

For his part, Naruto met her hatred head on, his kodachi held down and to the side as he rushed forward, not even noticing the half grin half snarl on his face as he rushed forward, his blood and hatred singing in unison. Naruto ducked under the woman's reckless thrust and came up swinging his kodachi, unsure if he could actually cut Konan in half but more than willing to give it a try.

He growled angrily as the kunoichi retained enough sense to twist to the side to avoid his strike, and quickly brought his sword back to block the crazed woman's second kunai thrust. Naruto met Konan's hate filled eyes without a flinch, and tried to push her kunai aside so he could resume his own attack. Surprisingly, the woman managed to hold her own despite the amount of Kyuubi's chakra adding to his own chakra enhanced strength, and Naruto found himself actually being pushed back slightly as sparks flew from the grinding metal.

Then Naruto was stumbling forward as the pressure against his kodachi suddenly vanished, and before he could even try to reset his stance, Naruto once again found his ribs shouting in protest as they were squeezed unmercifully.

Grunting in surprise, Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra receding once again, although unlike the previous time, the chakra didn't just suddenly stop. Instead, when he tilted his head back slightly, Naruto found himself wrapped in Tsunade's arms, the kneeling woman raining tears and wet kisses all over his head and face as she kept up the oddest litany he'd ever heard. "Naruto you horrible, beautiful, reckless, wonderful child! Don't you ever, _ever_ do that to me again, you ungrateful, adorable, heart attack inducing, perfect, brat! Do you hear me? If you even _think_ of trying to scare me like that again, I'll tan your hide from here to Mizu! Oh Naruto-chan, I promise, I'm never going to let you out of my sight _again…_ "

For his part Naruto just blinked in confusion as Tsunade's strange rant trailed off into undecipherable murmurs as she slowly rocked him back and forth as if _he_ were the one who had just had a terrible reaction to something or other. And how could he be both horrible _and_ wonderful at the same time? Naruto opened his mouth to point out that Tsunade wasn't making any sense _at all_ –not to mention that they were in the middle of a battle- when he finally caught sight of Konan over Tsunade's shoulder.

Or more specifically, he caught sight of the woman's legs and stomach, which appeared to be the only part of her sticking out of the crater in the wall she'd been knocked into. Swallowing nervously, Naruto decided to just let Tsunade fuss over him in silence, or at least until the Sannin finally calmed down. And now that he wasn't fighting for his life, Naruto let out a shaky breath as the fact that he'd almost _died_ truly sank in. Suddenly _extremely _grateful for Tsunade's timely arrival, Naruto almost didn't care at how the woman was babying him, allowing the woman to hug him all she wanted. Especially since her slight trembling from whatever emotions were wracking her helped cover up Naruto's own shaking at the sobering knowledge of his own mortality.

* * *

It took longer than Naruto would ever admit for his trembling to subside, and he'd definitely never admit that he'd never really grew irritated at Tsunade for how long she held him tightly before taking a deep breath and finally standing up. And no one would _ever _know how much he enjoyed that hug either. Eventually however, Tsunade did release him, and Naruto was able to pick up his kodachi from where he'd dropped it and sheath it.

When he looked up, Tsunade was staring at Nagato's strange throne-chair thing, and Naruto suddenly remembered something kind of important. "Tsunade, this guy had some kind of Dojutsu." Naruto said as he stepped up next to her. "And he kept talking about Jiraiya as if he was fighting him wherever it is the pervert got off to. …And when he was talking to Konan, he kept calling the old pervert "Jiraiya-sensei"."

For some reason, Tsunade stiffened at that, and she quickly turned to study Nagato's head where it lay, several feet from his body. Without a word, Tsunade strode over to kneel by the head and turned it over to stare at Nagato's unseeing eyes with an unreadable expression. Naruto almost followed her, before the thought of Konan compelled him to check to make sure the woman was dead.

Turning away from the Sannin, Naruto quickly made his way over to the wall and took hold of Konan's legs, tugging hard in order to pry the kunoichi from the crater she had made. He needn't have bothered, as when she finally came free, it was obvious from the odd angle of the woman's neck and the unseeing eyes that Konan hadn't survived the impact. The part where one of her arms _did not_ leave the crater with the rest of her body only drove the point home. Glancing over his shoulder at Tsunade's still kneeling form, Naruto couldn't help but wonder how physically strong the Medic-nin _really _was, if she could hit someone so hard that they'd not only be buried from head to stomach in solid stone, but that the impact could actually _rip_ their limbs off.

Naruto was pretty sure _he _didn't come even close to being that strong, even with all the Kyuubi chakra he could handle going into the punch. He turned back to the dead woman and briefly thought about searching her for any documents or weapons he could use, but stiffened when he caught sight of something odd. Crouching down, Naruto pulled the woman's remaining hand up to more closely examine it. More specifically, he was interested in the strange ring she wore on her middle finger, the symbol for "white" prominently displayed on it. Though unusual, it wasn't unheard of for ninja to wear jewelry of some kind or another. What was strange was that this ring had chakra running through it. Enough so to catch even _his_ attention and he was about as much a Sensor ninja as Jiraiya was a saint.

Naruto tilted his head in thought for a moment, debating what he should do, before finally shrugging and tugging the ring off. He might not have any idea what the thing did, but Naruto was sure that whatever it was, Konoha could probably reverse engineer it if it was useful. Pocketing the ring, Naruto turned around just in time to see Tsunade walking over to pick up one of those strange rods Nagato had shot at him; the man's head nowhere to be seen.

She examined the rod for a moment, running one hand over its length in thought, before tucking it through her belt and beckoning him to her. Once Naruto had obliged, she knelt down in front of him once again. "Listen to me very carefully, Naruto. We're going to leave the caves now and rendezvous with Sarutobi-sensei and the others." Tsunade began before growing very serious as she stared at him intently. "I want you to promise me that you won't mention anything about these two to Jiraiya. Understand?"

Naruto blinked at her request before frowning. "…but Jiraiya knows these two somehow. One of them even called him sensei! Shouldn't we confront him about what he's been doing teaching foreign ninja?"

Tsunade sighed and gripped his shoulders reassuringly before continuing. "It's a very long story Naruto, and I plan to speak with Jiraiya about it. Later. Right now, I don't want to burden him with this. Understand?"

Naruto most certainly _did not_ understand, and he opened his mouth to say so only to be interrupted.

"Please, Naruto." Tsunade murmured, and Naruto felt conflicted for a moment. On the one hand, everything he had been taught about Konoha law demanded that he either confront Jiraiya, or report the situation to the Godaime. On the other hand, he trusted Tsunade wouldn't ask him to keep something like this secret without a good reason. And as the pervert's old teammate, surely she knew better than anyone how to deal with the white-haired Sannin. Struggling over the decision for a moment, Naruto finally nodded his consent.

"Alright, I won't tell Jiraiya about them." Naruto said grudgingly before glancing around and leaning forward to continue in a whisper. "But…what if Jiraiya _did_ have something to do with this? That would be treason, right?"

"Don't worry, Naruto." Tsunade replied as she straightened once again. "Jiraiya is many things, but a traitor isn't one of them. In this case, suffice it to say that he had a bad habit of taking in strays when he was younger, and let's leave it at that."

'_What the hell was that supposed to mean?'_ Naruto couldn't help but wonder as Tsunade firmly took him by the hand and led him through the collapsed wall and back into the tunnels that had caused him so much frustration. Frustration that returned with a vengeance as Tsunade seemed to effortlessly navigate their way through the tunnels as if she'd lived there all her life. Naruto grumbled about the unfairness of it all, and then grumbled about annoying blonde Medic-nin when Tsunade heard his complaints and started laughing.

After a few minutes of walking, they began to run across bands of Ame shinobi, loyalists searching for any more rebels, or gathering the wounded and the dead, or escorting groups of beaten, restrained rebels out of the caves. Joining in with one such group, Naruto sneered at the defeated rebels, many of whom were openly weeping at their defeat, or muttering "He can't be dead…Pein-sama can't be dead" over and over.

When they finally left the caves and split off from the Ame shinobi and their prisoners, Naruto couldn't resist taking a deep breath of fresh air, not even minding the light rain that fell on his upturned face. '_God, it's good to be alive…'_ Naruto thought to himself with a steadily growing grin of excitement. He'd done it. He'd completed his first mission, won his first real battle, and now all Naruto wanted to do was laugh his ass off in sheer joy.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama, Naruto-kun, there you are." Came a drawl from the side. Spinning around to face the source of the voice –and surreptitiously twisting his hand free of Tsunade's grip before anyone could notice- Naruto was surprised to find Kakashi sitting on a nearby rock outcropping, his face buried in an orange book of some kind. "Sandaime-sama wanted me to bring you to where he and Jiraiya-sama are. Please, follow me." The lanky Jounin said as he hopped down from his perch and began strolling away without looking up from his book.

'_What a weirdo.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he glanced at Tsunade. For some reason, her eye was twitching, and Naruto could almost swear he could see a vein in her forehead bulging as they followed the young shinobi.

"Oh Kakashi-kun?" Tsunade called in a sickly sweet voice. "What are you reading there? It must be quite the interesting book if you can't even bring yourself to look away from it even when you're talking to _me_."

It might have been his imagination, but Naruto could swear he saw Kakashi jump and fumble with the book for a second before he answered. "Oh…er, well, it's just something Jiraiya-sama gave me to pass the time. Nothing you'd be interested in." the masked Jounin said quickly as he picked up his pace slightly.

Not that it did him much good, as Tsunade –and Naruto by virtue of the firm grip she kept on his hand yet again- walked faster to match him. "Oh come now, I'm sure if _Jiraiya_ gave it to you, it _must_ be something terribly interesting." Tsunade said in a cool tone that belied the smile she kept on her face. "So interesting in fact, that I'm sure you'd much rather read it in the privacy of your own home, safe from shall we say…_improper _eyes."

Naruto watched in utter confusion as Kakashi's eye darted from his book to Tsunade, to him, and back to Tsunade again. It was even weirder because Naruto could _swear_ there was something off about the conversation. After all, why the hell would Kakashi be acting so twitchy when Tsunade was talking so nicely? Didn't he realize that she hardly _ever_ talked to someone like that?

"…You're right of course, Tsunade-sama." Kakashi quickly uttered as he stashed the odd book in his kunai pouch. "I'll do just that."

"Good." Tsunade practically purred as Kakashi turned away, before her arm darted forward and then away as if she were tossing something away.

Blinking Naruto glanced over his shoulder and could have sworn he saw something orange sailing off into the distance. Turning back to stare up at a pleased looking Tsunade, Naruto could only come to one conclusion. '_Anbu are weird when they don't have their masks on.'_

* * *

Naruto rolled his shoulders irritably as he felt a tugging sensation yet again. '_What _is _that?'_ Naruto wondered from his seat on a fallen log. Staring around suspiciously, Naruto once again noted nothing obvious that could cause the feeling. Kakashi was sulking nearby, apparently upset that he had misplaced that weird book of his. Jiraiya and the Sandaime were standing nearby in quiet conversation, Jiraiya looking unusually somber about something and the Sandaime apparently trying to cheer him up.

Tsunade was sitting next to him on the log, and while he didn't really mind that, Naruto wished she'd stop wrapping an arm around him protectively whenever an Ame nin walked by. He wasn't a baby, and he _didn't_ need to be babied damn it! You'd think she thought the Ame nin might try to steal him or something…then again… Naruto narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the nearest group of Hanzo's followers. It had been what, two or three decades since Ame lost possession of the Rokubi? Maybe they were looking for a replacement? Then again, Hanzo had shown little but contempt for him so far, so that was unlikely.

Besides, none of them looked like they were doing anything that could cause that tugging sensation.

Scowling as Tsunade once again wrapped an arm around him; Naruto stood up and shoved his hands in his pockets. Stomping off grumpily, Naruto froze after just a few steps. The tugging sensation was coming from his pocket. Pulling the ring he'd taken off of Konan out, Naruto could actually _feel _ring try to tug out of his hand. Frowning, Naruto turned to face the direction the ring was trying to go and walked several steps to see if the tugging would change. When it didn't, Naruto looked up curiously.

All he could see in that direction were…the body bags. Naruto gulped nervously. Those four bags contained the bodies of the fallen "Peins". Tsunade said the Ame shinobi intended to study them to try to figure out how the supposedly dead men had been able to walk around and fight the way they had. That the ring Konan had been wearing was tugging lightly in that direction was…well…kind of creepy.

Glancing around and seeing no one watching, Naruto cautiously approached the four bags. When no one appeared to notice –or if they did, they didn't care- Naruto slowly moved between the still forms, finding that the tugging sensation seemed to pull towards one body bag in particular. Swallowing, Naruto drew a kunai and crouched down, unzipping the bag quickly, intending to jump back or stab at the first sign of…whatever. When nothing happened, Naruto leaned over the spiky haired corpse, wincing at all the piercings that literally crisscrossed the man's face. Glancing around once more, Naruto held the fist clenching the ring over the body. The ring tugged insistently down away from the man's face and Naruto experimentally moved his hand down his body. After a moment, Naruto pocketed the ring and pulled the corpse's right hand out with a grimace. A quick check of the fingers revealed an almost identical ring on the thumb. Feeling like a complete ghoul, Naruto tugged the ring off and began zipping the body bag back up.

"A little young to be looting corpses, aren't you boy?" came a familiar chilling rasp.

Naruto jerked around in shock, instinctively clenching his fist and pocketing the ring as he stumbled back from the bodies and the imposing form of Sanshouo no Hanzo towering over him. In the next second, Tsunade was standing in front of him protectively, Jiraiya and Sandaime following at a more sedate pace.

"Relax boy, I'm not going to take your prize from you." Hanzo snorted mockingly. "Consider it a gift for surviving your first war. Unless of course, you'd prefer something a little more prestigious. Perhaps a title that you can go around bragging about?"

Naruto grit his teeth angrily, yet managed to keep from doing anything stupid like calling Hanzo an asshole. Instead, he kept a firm grip of the rings in his pocket, desperately hoping the man wouldn't suddenly demand to see what he had taken. He might not know what the rings did, but he seriously doubted Konan and one of those "Peins" had been wearing them as a fashion statement.

"Is there something you wanted, Hanzo-dono?" The Sandaime asked calmly as he nonchalantly packed his pipe with tobacco. "Other than taunting a seven-year-old that is?"

Naruto would have grinned at that if not for the fact that the Sandaime was talking about him like he was some kind of child. Well, that, and because for an instant, he could swear he saw Hanzo sincerely considering trying to kill them all. Then Naruto blinked, and whatever he thought he saw was gone from Hanzo's gleaming eyes.

"You may return to Amegakure for the time being. Once you've rested, get out of my country. Tell Danzo that I'll pay him a visit soon enough to fulfill my end of the bargain." That said, Hanzo turned on his heel and strolled off towards a nearby clearing where Hanzo's loyalists were forcing a handful of rebels to their knees while others were forced to watch on.

Naruto seethed in anger as he glared at the retreating legend, only to be yanked back by Tsunade, who once again wrapped her arms around him protectively. Twisting in her arms, Naruto opened his mouth to protest; only to shut it again as he caught sight of the mixed look of hatred and fright the ordinarily fearless woman was sending the retreating legend. Gulping, Naruto didn't resist when Tsunade Shunshined them away.

* * *

**Translations:**

Suiton: Teppodama no Jutsu=Water Style: Bullet Technique

Hime-sama=I thought this only meant princess, but I've been told it can mean Lady as well. For the purposes of this chapter, I meant it as Lady.

Did I miss any?

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**AN: **I'm so glad to be done with Pein. The more I try to write his character and fighting style, the more I felt like bashing my head against a wall. Particularly since there's _no_ _way_ I can justify him standing much of a chance against Hanzo and company while split up. Tsunade and Konan's fight wasn't much easier, because one is the epitome of close quarters combat, while the other is one of the best long range fighters in the series. Kudos to Kenchi618 for reminding me that the Slugs were pretty underrated by most. Seriously, they can spit acid and multiply to avoid taking damage. Yet we hardly see them take a combat role outside of Katsuya fighting Manda.

How many people either saw Naruto killing Nagato coming, or are pissed off by how it happened? Because honestly, it's hard to justify a crippled guy fighting efficiently, particularly when he's sending his chakra/focusing his efforts on controlling two or three other bodies locked in combat with guys like Jiraiya. Anyway, I'm sure you'll all be curious as to how the death of two of Akatsuki's members -one of whom was the pseudo leader- will have on things to come. All I'll say right now is be patient.

As always, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as are any reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Peace, Vaan.


	9. Chapter 9

**Words-79834, Chapters-8, Reviews-118, Hits-36201, C2s-20, Fav-243, Alerts-276**

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**AN:**

Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed despite nearly two years of inactivity. This will be AU (obviously) and Naruto will be two years older than Canon. Which means that the Kyuubi attack will be two years earlier. I should have responded to everyone, but if I missed you, I apologize. As always, all reviews/criticism is welcomed. So, without further ado, I give you chapter 9 of Naruto: the Reckoning.

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'_THOUGHTS'_

LINEBREAKS=CHANGE OF SCENE/POV

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**Reckoning chapter 9**

Tsunade couldn't resist peeking into Naruto's room in the hotel Hanzo had so "graciously" allocated them. She let out near silent sigh of relief when she found her son sleeping right where she'd seen him when she checked the last time.

It was taking some effort, but Tsunade was slowly pushing away the terrified paranoia that had been gripping her since Naruto had disappeared after that cave in. After all, despite Danzo's wishes to the contrary, Tsunade was very clear in her love for Naruto even if she'd yet to tell him the truth of their relationship, and even Naruto would notice that she'd been especially clingy since they'd reunited in the caves.

Pushing down the urge to curl up with her sleeping child, Tsunade quietly closed the door and made her way back into the common area of their suite. There she found Jiraiya and Sarutobi-sensei sitting quietly, while Kakashi appeared to be passed out on a nearby couch. Grumbling about lazy Jounin, Tsunade sat down in a comfortable chair that allowed her to keep a close eye on the door to Naruto's room, just in case.

She glanced over at Sarutobi, who looked like he was debating between having a smoke and joining Kakashi in taking a nap, while Jiraiya just stared vacantly into space. That caused Tsunade to remember the severed head sealed away in a scroll in her kunai pouch, and the realization she'd come to as she'd stared at it on the floor of the underground chamber. Specifically, that the red-haired man had been one of those three orphans Jiraiya had trained all those years ago.

She hadn't been certain at first, but the kunoichi she had fought had struck her as vaguely familiar –though at the time Tsunade had been too blinded with rage and anguish at Naruto's seeming death to really notice. Hell, she hadn't even really noticed the redhead at all as she crashed into the chamber; too busy focusing on killing whoever had taken her baby away from her to pay him much attention.

Once she had calmed down and actually studied the man however –mostly out of concern that the Rinnegan he possessed didn't fall into Hanzo's hands- Tsunade could easily see the resemblance between the boy she'd once met, and the withered man Naruto had killed. After all, she could count the number of redheads she'd met after Uzushio's destruction on one hand.

Therein lay the dilemma Tsunade was now facing. How did one go about telling an old friend that you had just killed or helped kill two of their former students? Particularly when Jiraiya obviously still cared about them?

Tsunade glanced towards Naruto's room, once more feeling the urge to run over and the throw the door open and scoop him into her arms. Folding her arms, Tsunade forced herself to look away. She'd just checked on him, and even if she looked again, Naruto would still be there fast asleep. He wouldn't be gone, or hurt, or…

"It doesn't make any sense!" Jiraiya suddenly exclaimed in frustration, breaking her from her thoughts. "The more I think about it, the man I fought _couldn't _have been Nagato. He was familiar, and when I saw those Rinnegan eyes, I just assumed it was Nagato. Hell, the guy talked to me about things that only Nagato could have known. But not only was the hair color wrong, but I recognize him now as a shinobi from the Fuma clan that I fought years ago!"

"Hanzo did claim that the people who called themselves Pein were often those he'd seen die in the past. And you yourself identified one of them as this "Yahiko" you once trained." Sarutobi-sensei murmured around his pipe. "What I'm more concerned with is the method by which this so-called Pein was able to replicate the Rinnegan. Surely we would have heard about it if there were an entire clan or even family of Rinnegan users?"

"One would expect such a clan would have made themselves known years ago if that were the case." Kakashi drawled tiredly from his couch. "Perhaps this Nagato found some means of cloning or replicating the eyes somehow? Maybe even using them to control the corpses?"

"Which means he must still be alive somewhere!" Jiraiya exclaimed excitedly. "Maybe even Konan as well! I should head back out there while I still can and see if I can track them down. If I hurry, I might be able to convince them to-"

"They're already dead, Jiraiya." Tsunade whispered sympathetically, wincing inside at the way Jiraiya suddenly froze up with look of pain at her words. Forcing herself to move, Tsunade reluctantly removed the scroll from her kunai pouch, wishing that she didn't have to be the one to tell her old friend –or at least, that she could have put it off a little longer.

Opening the scroll, Tsunade unsealed the severed head, regretting that she hadn't thought to clean it off before sealing it away.

Jiraiya turned pale, a look of undisguised pain in his eyes as he stared at the blood splattered head of his former student. After a few moments, Tsunade felt the need to apologize. "I'm sorry, Jiraiya, but I didn't think we should risk Hanzo getting his hands on these eyes. The man's enough of a monster as it is."

"Did…did you _have_ to cut Nagato's head off?" Jiraiya asked sickly as he stared into the Rinnegan eyes of his former student.

Tsunade debated telling him that it was Naruto who killed Nagato, but the last thing she wanted was for Naruto to have that hanging over his head with Jiraiya for the rest of his life. Instead she said, "I'm sorry; his body was hooked up to some kind of mobile throne. I didn't want to risk any of Hanzo's men finding us while I tried to figure out how to remove him."

"…I see." Jiraiya muttered after a moment as he looked away. "Could you…could you seal it away again please? I don't want to…"

Nodding in understanding, Tsunade quickly did as he asked. Hopefully, whatever kind of surveillance Hanzo had on them wouldn't have caught any of that.

"And Konan? Did you kill her as well?" Jiraiya asked as he slumped tiredly in his chair. "Is she sealed in that scroll, just waiting to be dissected and picked apart?"

"You're being too harsh, Jiraiya." Sarutobi-sensei said reproachfully. "Tsunade only did what she had to in order to protect Naruto. Surely you don't blame her for that?"

Tsunade hissed in surprised anger at her old teacher, even as Jiraiya whipped around to stare at Sarutobi in disbelief. "What are you talking about?"

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe for a moment before answering. "Come now, I trained you both better than that. The last I checked, Tsunade doesn't carry a sword or any type of blade really, outside of kunai. Surely you noticed that the cut that severed Nagato's head was far too clean, just a single cut. And while I have no doubt Tsunade could have cut through in one swing, a kunai is simply too short to accomplish that. Naruto on the other hand, is quite the handy little swordsman with that kodachi of his."

Tsunade cringed fearfully, not for herself, but out of worry of how Jiraiya would react to Naruto now that he knew the truth. The two rarely got along as it was, though that was more because of their respective immaturity than anything else.

"Bullshit." Jiraiya said with a frown. "I trained Nagato as a child, and even if he was immobilized, with the Rinnegan he still should have been able to easily overcome Naruto."

"I'm actually a little curious about _how_ Naruto managed to stumble across the leader of the Ame rebels like that." Kakashi added as he actually pulled himself into an upright position. "And I had thought I felt the Kyuubi's chakra during the battle, but I was a little distracted at the time."

Tsunade couldn't resist shrinking back as all three men turned to her questioningly at that. Although she knew intellectually that what happened was simply the chaos of the battlefield, emotionally, Tsunade was terrified that they would condemn her for losing Naruto, and then that they would tell Danzo that she shouldn't be allowed near him, and then they'd _take _her son from her, and that would be worse than _dying_. Once more her eyes darted to Naruto's bedroom, now contemplating grabbing her son and just running to the ends of the earth, before she forced herself to relax.

"There was a cave in." Tsunade began, explaining how she and Naruto had been separated and then what came after. Oh, she left out a good deal, like how frantically she had searched for him, the terror that had slowly consumed her the longer he was out of her sight. She told them how she felt the Kyuubi's chakra and used that to find Naruto, though she left out the part about those Ame kids she had almost killed in a fit of sheer paranoia, and that she had recklessly crashed through wall after wall in her desire to reach her son.

She told them about how the Kyuubi's chakra suddenly just disappeared, and how when she entered the chamber, it was to see Naruto lying unmoving on the floor before Nagato and Konan. Tsunade didn't feel the need to explain what she was feeling in that moment as she stared at the apparent killers of her son, though she did let Jiraiya know that she hadn't recognized the two at that time. Tsunade didn't know if that would help sooth her old teammate or not, but she felt the need to at least try.

Jiraiya listened to the story of Tsunade's battle with Konan with a sort of resigned interest, as equally curious about Nagato's odd throne like chair as he was in the redhead's inaction during the brief battle. Yet there was no hiding his flinch when Tsunade got to the part where Naruto announced his survival by cutting off Nagato's head. From there, her story became a little more unclear, as Tsunade had honestly been all but consumed by her raging emotions at the sight of her little boy alive and well. It took that bitch Konan attacking him to get her to move again, crossing the chamber in an instant to deliver a backhand that literally knocked the Ame kunoichi _into_ the cave wall. Tsunade once again left out how she had experienced a slight breakdown in her sheer euphoria, descending on Naruto with a liberal smothering of hugs, kisses, scolding, and praises.

Finally, she told them how Naruto had spoken of the man's Dojutsu, and what he had overheard regarding Nagato's "Paths" and their mentioning of Jiraiya as their teacher, and everything had finally come together in Tsunade's mind.

When she finished, the group sat in silence for a moment as they each contemplated what they now knew of Nagato.

"Fascinating…" Sarutobi muttered thoughtfully around his pipe. "I imagine Nagato's death likely coincided with the longhaired Pein's sudden collapse."

"Collapse?" Kakashi blinked in surprise. "I thought you crushed his skull?"

"I did." Sarutobi nodded agreeably. "After he collapsed. The question is, what do those strange piercings have to do with the process? Even the real Nagato had them, though from your description of them, they were far larger than any simple facial piercing."

"I found a strange rod in the chamber." Tsunade offered. "Naruto-chan said the rod just barely scratched him, yet it forced his chakra and muscles to freeze up. That's actually what made me think he'd-" Tsunade broke off with a slight shudder and pointedly did _not _look towards Naruto's room, before continuing. "I also managed to get a couple of piercings from the one Jiraiya fought. They _seem _to be made out of the same material as the rod, but I'll need to actually run some tests on them to know more."

Silence fell once again as Sarutobi returned to his pipe, and Kakashi flopped back down and dropped off to sleep once again. Tsunade was more concerned with how withdrawn Jiraiya had become, a pained look on his face as he stared off into space.

"Jiraiya I-"

"It's alright, Tsunade." Jiraiya interrupted quietly. "It's not Naruto's fault. Nagato made his choices, and I can't blame Naruto for defending himself. Nor you for protecting your son."

Tsunade sat upright in shock as her eyes darted to Kakashi's sleeping form and back with an outraged glare.

"He knows, Tsunade." Jiraiya continued before she could tear into him. "He confronted me the night Hanzo called you out. He's angry that no one ever told him about the pregnancy. Or the birth for that matter. But he's with us nonetheless."

Tsunade sat back with a tired sigh, covering her eyes with a hand in exasperation. Kakashi "joining them" was the first real progress they'd made in getting Naruto out from under Danzo's thumb in years. A part of Tsunade was truly beginning to fear that they'd never succeed.

* * *

Naruto watched curiously from the shadows of his hotel room as the assembled Ame shinobi murmured below. Obviously it wasn't the entirety of Amegakure down there yet there still had to be at least two thousand ninja down there. The square his room overlooked was to be the setting for Hanzo's "Reunification" speech. Several days had passed since Pein's defeat, and Hanzo had been hard at work doing...something important. Naruto didn't know what it was for sure, but felt that it must be something grand to be Hanzo's work.

The crowd below was a mixture of loyal and... well, some not so loyal Ame ninja. Not all were rebels to be sure, but when Pein began his uprising, many shinobi had fled the Village in the hope that they could simply sit out the latest of Amegakure's many wars. A dangerous thought to be sure, as there was no guarantee the victors of the civil war would be forgiving, yet it seemed to have paid off as Hanzo had essentially granted amnesty to all those who returned and swore allegiance to him...again.

Naruto silently applauded Hanzo for his mercy, regardless of the legend's motivations for such a generous act. He knew he could never be so forgiving of those who abandoned him and his Village. Then again, maybe that was why Hanzo was a great leader and he was just...Naruto. He was drawn from his thoughts by a low buzz moving through the crowd below. Staring down, he noticed that all of the Ame nin were gazing at the balcony on the ornate building directly across from his room. Slowly making his way out onto the balcony was Sanshouo no Hanzo.

The legendary Salamander summoner made his way to a podium set just short of the balcony's edge, the crowd falling eerily silent at his appearance. Naruto watched interestedly as the man placed his hands on the podium, leaning against it as if bearing a great weight on his shoulders, before breaking his silence.

"My people," Hanzo began in a tired, solemn rasp, even as he stood upright. "Proud Shinobi of Amegakure. For many years, we have been a broken nation." He gestured to the Village, battle damage old and new evident across the great city.

Without warning, his voice suddenly gained strength, anger, and other emotions that Naruto couldn't even begin to identify. "Shunned! Oppressed! And conquered by the very tyrants we sought to escape!" It didn't escape Naruto's notice when the legend pounded on his podium once before pointing north as he spoke of the "Tyrants". North towards Tsuchi no Kuni.

"Ten years ago, I asked for time. And that time was granted by you." He continued with pride as he gestured to the assembled ninja. "You, the strength in my arm." Hanzo proclaimed as he raised one of his fists into the air before reaching up with his other as if supporting something. "The holders of my dreams."

"Our forefathers embarked on one of the greatest endeavors in the history of mankind. An endeavor for freedom. Amegakure no Sato became that freedom! After the Second Great Shinobi War, our enemies thought they had weakened us, driven us to despair, and poverty. But in fact, we were growing… stronger." Hanzo spoke with a quiet pride now, as he looked over his followers. After a short pause to allow them to reminisce on their once glorious past, he continued with growing power and emotion.

"In the time you have given me, I have rebuilt our nation. I have rebuilt our strength. And I have rebuilt our pride! Our enemies at home have been reeducated. We have given them new insights into our cause." Hanzo again paused to allow his people to reflect on the fate of those who had challenged his rule before continuing. "On this day, we stand united once more. On this day, those driven to divide us, will hear our voice!" Again, he pointed north as he continued. "From this day forward, we shall act as one! And we will be ignored no more!"

Naruto could barely breath he was so entranced by Hanzo's speech. Even the man's own followers were gazing on the legendary man in pride, reverence, and awe. Some of these men and women had fought against Hanzo in the past, yet they still gazed almost lovingly at him. The whole assembly seemed to lean forward unperceptively, yet obviously, if such a thing were possible, waiting expectantly for their leader's next words.

"Defenders of Ame no Kuni," Hanzo began ominously before gesturing once again with a loud proclamation. "Now is, OUR TIME!"

The crowd burst into thunderous roars of approval as hundreds of hitae-ate were proudly thrust into the air and waved back and forth. Naruto looked on in amazement and slight apprehension as the last he saw of Hanzo, as the man backed away was his eerie, black eyes shining impossibly before the shadows covered him once more.

Naruto would stay at that window for the rest of the night, watching the village of Amegakure celebrate late into the night, barely noticing or registering Kakashi when he came to inform him of the plans to leave early the next morning. All he could think about were those eyes and the fear they instilled in him. He didn't know how or why...but something about those eyes told him that they, that even Danzo-sama, had made a terrible mistake.

* * *

A little over a week after Hiruzen and his team returned with news of the end of the Amegakure Civil War, Danzo was sitting at a table in one of the Hokage Tower's few meeting rooms, silently studying those around him. To his right, were the Yondaime Kazekage and one of his bodyguards, a Jounin in his late twenties by the name of Baki. The Kage was dressed in his formal robes, including the hat and that ridiculous veil of his. Baki was dressed in the standard Suna Jounin uniform, with the only difference being the veil that hid the left side of his face from view. The Jounin held himself with calm professionalism, barely a hint of his discontent showing through to the surface.

Danzo knew that neither Suna nin were happy to be there, in the heart of one of their "formerly" bitter enemy's territory. Yet they really didn't have a choice but to answer his summons, such was the recent depletion of their power. As Danzo understood it, their Daimyo was far from happy at the fiasco Suna had helped cause during the Third Great War, and as such had severely cut back on their funding as punishment.

Ordinarily, any of the Great Villages could function for several years without their Daimyo's funding, just by using their own treasury and the funds brought in from clients. Unfortunately for Suna, between the reparations they were forced to pay after the end of the war, attempting to rebuild their forces, and the loss of respect and clients that came from their own Daimyo refusing their services, they quickly exhausted their funding, and as such, the number of shinobi they could produce and their ability to project strength was severely depleted. In all likelihood, Suna would have already collapsed from lack of money were it not for their Kazekage's, and the man had almost singlehandedly funded Suna with his abilities these past few years.

In short, it was only their alliance with Konoha that was deterring one of the other Villages from attacking. While the Suna shinobi were still powerful, the current situation was making them _look_ weak. And that was often all it would take for a rival Village to attack. As such, they couldn't afford to do anything that would jeopardize their "alliance".

Danzo knew this, and he had every intention of exploiting it. All he had to do was offer them what they wanted most.

Glancing over to his left, he observed his more trusted allies. The Taisho Jounin of Takigakure, Shibuku and his body guard -a Jounin by the name of Suien- were positioned to his immediate left. The only reason why Konoha's oldest ally wasn't seated to Danzo's right was because of the Kazekage's presence.

Shibuku was a dark haired man with a goatee, dressed in simple, dark shinobi clothing, forgoing even a vest in favor of his simple attire. He had a friendly smile on his face as he sipped on some tea and patiently awaited the start of the meeting.

His bodyguard on the other hand was a near complete opposite. The Jounin had long, grey hair that was held back by his hitae-ate that he wore as a bandanna. His face was set in a perpetual scowl, and he wore a Taki Jounin vest with extended shoulder pads rather than the more common version. Whereas Shibuku sipped his tea patiently, Suien was constantly scanning the room impatiently.

Turning his eye to the other side of the table, directly in front of him was Hanzo himself. The man had arrived earlier that day with over a score of his personal bodyguard, demanding entrance so that he could "get this over with". Danzo had of course, personally greeted the man and escorted him and his men to a hotel that was booked out just for them.

When they parted, Danzo had expected the man to clean up before following his escort to the Hokage Tower. Instead, Hanzo had shown up in his battle uniform, looking like he'd just stepped off the battlefield prior to arriving. Which, given Ame no Kuni's recent troubles, was probably fairly accurate. Likely an attempt at cowing or at the very least _reminding _the gathered leaders of Hanzo's skill and power. Behind Hanzo was another one of his unnamed Jounin bodyguards, who stood stoically without focusing his eyes on anything around him.

The final man at the table was a Kusa Jounin by the name of Jinkomaru. Jinkomaru was there representing the Jounin Council of Kusa, the ruling body of Kusagakure. Unlike other Hidden Villages, Kusa possessed no one leader, instead allowing every Jounin ranked shinobi to partake in a "democracy" of sorts. This Council operated by popular vote, deciding on all things from which clients to accept, to which shinobi was most suited to a particular task. The day to day operations of the Village were usually assigned to Special Jounin by the Council, or in the more sensitive positions, to members of the Council itself.

In this case, Jinkomaru was "selected" to represent Kusagakure at this meeting, with another Jounin named Hideki as his "bodyguard". The nondescript Kusa nin did little to hide his distaste of Konoha, but everyone knew that they had no choice but to go along with this meeting. It was currently Konoha's will that kept Kusa no Kuni in existence, and they could just as easily will it out of existence.

Granted, they were only in that position because of Konoha in the first place. The history books written since the end of the Third Great Shinobi War often labeled Konoha and Kusa as allies throughout the war, even crediting Konoha with coming to Kusa's defense against the Iwa onslaught. The truth of course, was far different.

Konoha and Kusa may have been fighting the same enemy, but that no more made them allies then Suna and Konoha both fighting Iwa did, or Iwa and Konoha both fighting Suna, or Suna and Iwa both fighting Konoha. Although, _officially_ Kusa and Konoha had never fought each other in that war, so perhaps the claim that they were allies held a little more water.

Kusa no Kuni was once a powerful nation itself in the early years of the Hidden Villages, and even up until the outbreak of the Third Great War, they had remained a stable and self-sufficient nation- if not a particularly wealthy one.

Ironically, Kusagakure no Sato wasn't actually _founded_ in the manner of other Hidden Villages until the outbreak of the First Shinobi World War. Before then, the many shinobi clans of Kusa no Kuni had roamed across the nation, each clan responsible for maintaining peace and order in their respective territories, alongside the Legion of the Wall, Kusa no Kuni's small but elite Samurai core.

Back then, Kusagakure no Sato was little more than a supply depot, as well as a meeting place for the various leaders of the clans to gather when necessary to share any intelligence they acquired, while allowing the Kusa Daimyo and other clients a way to get in contact with them. This practice ended with the First Great War, as the individual clans were unable to effectively repel the more unified and regimented forces of the Hidden Villages that attacked them. By the end of the war, the remnants of Kusa's battered Shinobi clans finally came together to reside solely in Kusagakure.

In the decades since then, the shinobi of Kusa came to be renowned for two things. One was their unrivaled use of poisons, the other their diplomatic ability to read the political landscape and act accordingly. This was seen most prominently just before the start of the Third Great War.

The shinobi of Kusa accurately predicted not only the war's outbreak, but also that Iwa would attack them. They responded by abandoning Kusagakure in secret and forming a defensive line with the Legion of the Wall in the north, so when Iwa launched their "surprise attack" Kusa was ready. Though the Iwa/Tsuchi forces were eventually able to break through the Kusa defensive line, they wasted a great deal of time, resources, and effort reaching Kusagakure only to find the Village empty, save for numerous poison gas traps that claimed the lives of hundreds of Iwa Shinobi before they could evacuate.

The Kusa nin then broke apart into countless raiding parties and guerrilla cells, numbering anywhere from dozens to one or two hundred ninja, who utilized the hidden fortresses still maintained by the clans throughout Kusa no Kuni and the pre-seeded supply caches that were set up just before the invasion –although as the years went by and those caches were depleted, Kusa foragers were seen as little better than the Tsuchi/Iwa occupiers by the people of Kusa no Kuni- in order to cause havoc to the invaders. The Kusa ninja's attacks and raids caused severe damage to Tsuchi's armies throughout the years of the war, preventing the Iwa led offensive from penetrating any further into Hi no Kuni than it already had.

Indeed, the reason why the Kannabi Bridge was so important to Iwa, and why its destruction helped end the war, was because most of the _other_ numerous bridges crisscrossing Kusa no Kuni had already been sabotaged, dismantled, or rigged with explosives by the Kusa shinobi earlier in the war, often before the Iwa forces even reached them. Even when all of Kusa no Kuni was under occupation for years, Tsuchi's Samurai and Shinobi armies were still suffering heavy casualties from Kusagakure guerilla attacks and sabotage. Even with Minato's Hiraishin, it was likely the actions of the Kusa Shinobi that allowed Konoha to turn the tide as they had.

Of course, when the war finally ended Hi no Kuni couldn't resist making an attempt at seizing the weakened Kusa no Kuni. Though the western half of Kusa no Kuni and a good deal of the north was able to prevent this due to the heavy presence of its Shinobi forces –who took far fewer casualties compared to the two Great Villages who had warred across their lands- much of eastern and southern Kusa no Kuni was quickly occupied.

During the negotiations following the end of the war, Kusa's young Daimyo was forced to consent to the loss of territory, as well as to disband the remnants of the Legion of the Wall. Without the nation's elite Samurai core, the policing and guard duties -along with every other aspect of Kusa no Kuni's defensive forces- were relegated to the Kusa Shinobi, who while relatively intact following the war, frankly lacked the numbers to take on all of the responsibilities of both a Hidden Village, and the Samurai clans, while still being able to rival another nation. This kept Kusa from ever attempting to retake their lost territory, or attacking any of their other neighbors, leaving them dependent on Konoha to help deter invasion. Particularly since so much of Kusagakure's attention had to be focused on their western provinces which they had opportunistically claimed from Ame no Kuni during the Second Great Shinobi War. As one of Hanzo's weaker neighbors, Kusa lived in constant fear that the legendary shinobi might decide to "unify" their two nations.

So yes, Kusagakure was very resentful of Konoha. In point of fact, they _hated_ Konoha almost as much as Iwa and Suna did. That Jinkomaru was able to mask all of that hatred and resentment as mere distaste was a credit to Kusagakure's almost unreadable face. However, unknown to most in the room -but not Danzo- the "bodyguard" Hideki was actually the sole Kage-level ninja Kusagakure had to offer, and as such possessed great sway over the Village. It was no doubt _he_, who was the actual representative of Kusagakure no Sato.

'_A more diverse gathering of shinobi outside of battle has never been seen. And considering almost all of us hate all of the others, the fact that we aren't killing each other is a diplomatic _miracle_.' _Danzo mused wryly as Hanzo finally lost patience.

"Enough waiting, Danzo-dono. Why have you called us here?" the Ame leader growled through his helmet like rebreather.

"Of course, Hanzo-dono." he agreed amicably. "That is, if everyone else is ready to begin?" He received a round of nods and agreements, prompting him to proceed. He'd have to be extremely careful, as today would alter the course of history, one way or another. "Friends of old, allies of Konoha." he began formally. "You have been called here by treaty and by agreement, to fulfill your vows, and to answer a great threat to all of our lands." He paused there to subtly take in their reactions.

Hanzo looked bored, Jinkomaru wary, Shibuku attentive, and the Kazekage, while still tense, looked oddly interested. No doubt he was hoping for a way he could benefit from this. Luckily for Danzo, he intended to give him one.

"As you know, Hi no Kuni is at war with Kaminari, specifically due to Kumo's treacherous actions. What you don't know, is that my shinobi will be invading Kaminari in less than a month. The Samurai of Hi no Kuni will be close behind." Danzo informed them quietly. It was quite the risk to inform them of his plans, but he was certain that what he would offer them today would be enough to sway them to his cause. If not then things would quickly grow…complicated.

"Pardon me, Hokage-dono." Shibuku interrupted politely. "But while we will of course aid you in your war, there is only so much we can do. Kumo is far from our lands, and we cannot weaken ourselves so much as to fully commit ourselves to this fight, while Oath Breakers and aggressors remain so much closer to our borders."

"I understand completely, Shibuku-dono, and I'm grateful for your support." Danzo nodded graciously. "However, I have no intention of asking any of you to fight so far from your homes. Instead, I ask that all of you work together to deter another threat."

"How long do you plan to drag this out, Hokage-dono?" The Kazekage asked irritably. "I know you have something planned, so why don't you just come out and say it?"

He had to work not to scowl as he was interrupted once again before reminding himself that this wasn't a crowd he could play with a moving speech. With the exception of Jinkomaru, these men were all veteran leaders and Shinobi, and as such would not easily be moved by speeches. So perhaps it was foolish of him to try to sway them with simple words.

"Very well then, Kazekage-dono." He agreed with a nod. "Then I'll speak plainly. I want your four nations to invade Tsuchi no Kuni." That got their attention.

"What nonsense are you spouting!?" Jinkomaru gave a startled yelp. "What possible reason would we have to do that?"

"To prevent Iwa from attacking Konoha, of course." Was the nonchalant answer given by Hanzo of all people. "It's part of the reason why Konoha hasn't attacked Kumo yet. They don't want to leave their flank exposed to a surprise attack from Iwa, and Onoki is just the kind of bastard who'd take any advantage to expand and weaken his enemies that he could."

"But tell me, Hokage-dono." The Kazekage added. "How would drawing Iwa into a war benefit you? You'd still have to fight on two fronts."

"True enough," Danzo admitted. "If I planned to draw them into the war." He watched the subtle looks of confusion pass over the faces he could see before continuing. "Two days prior to the invasion of Kaminari, the shinobi of Suna, Ame, Kusa, and Taki will move into southern Tsuchi no Kuni and claim it as their own -peacefully of course- as part of the agreement with the Tsuchikage to lessen tensions with the nations who suffered due to the Third Great Shinobi War."

"And when, pray tell, did these talks take place?" The Kazekage asked with amusement in his voice and dancing in his eyes.

"Well, let's say two months ago." Danzo replied with a light smirk. "The Daimyo of Tsuchi will be furious of course, but with the word of the leaders of four nations against his –even more impressive that these nations have never worked together before- Onoki will be hard pressed to defend himself. If he claims that he knows nothing of his "agreement" then it will appear as if he was trying to shift the blame off himself. If he attempts to push any one of you out of Tsuchi, the others will attack his flanks, as punishment for his "blatant betrayal of the treaty". If he attempts to push all of you out at once, he will spread his forces too thin, and invite international condemnation and punishment for his "war mongering" actions. Something that his neighbors in Ishigakure and Hoshigakure will be eager to take part in if it meant breaking Iwa."

"And what happens when Onoki decides to cut through Kusa no Kuni, the weakest of our nations? Even if they leave behind a large portion of their forces to defend against the rest of us, it would still take them only a few days for a Samurai and Shinobi army to sweep through and into Hi no Kuni." Hanzo rasped with those gleaming eyes of his.

"I'll keep a reserve force here in Konoha, in case that happens. We'll reinforce the Kusa nin, and then strike back with the aid of your nations." Danzo explained easily. "Though I doubt that will be necessary. After all, such an attack would leave them up against Sanshouo no Hanzo and his summons." Here he nodded to Hanzo respectfully. "The Kazekage and his Ichibi Jinchuuriki." He sent the startled Kage a subtle smirk.

"A nation that has never been successfully invaded, the Shichibi Jinchuuriki, and the legendary Hero's Water." Shibuku mused with a rueful smile. "My apologies, Hokage-dono. I didn't mean to steal your thunder."

"That's quite all right, Shibuku-dono." Danzo chuckled good-naturedly. "But the only real weak point is -as Hanzo-dono pointed out- Kusa no Kuni. That's why cooperation between us all will be essential. Onoki must realize that we are working together, without being able to prove it. The true goal of this is not to provoke Onoki into war. It is to force him to do nothing, which will further convince the Daimyo of Tsuchi no Kuni that his Hidden Village is running their own foreign policy behind his back. The distrust will weaken Iwa further, which will only aid us."

"What of Iwa's own Jinchuuriki?" The Kazekage enquired cautiously. "As I recall, they possess two of them." Danzo didn't fail to notice how carefully the man avoided mentioning how young his own Jinchuuriki was. Even Naruto was older than the Ichibi Jinchuuriki.

"Roushi, the Yonbi Jinchuuriki left Iwa some time ago. Why the Tsuchikage allowed this, I don't know. The Gobi, a young man by the name of Han, remains in the village, but beyond him and Onoki? Iwa has yet to replace the many powerful Jounin they lost during the last Great War and as such have few that they could afford to send against your own. Besides, once Kumo has been dealt with, Konoha can send our own Jinchuuriki to aid you if necessary." Danzo explained, only to blink in surprise as Hanzo snorted in disdain.

"Jinchuuriki!" his raspy sneer filled the room. "Your obsession with those abominations is pathetic!"

Shibuku's tea cup cracked and shattered as he quietly stated. "Jinchuuriki are not their Bijuu. They are no different from the rest of us."

"What kind of fool do you take me for?" Hanzo asked mockingly. "I know they aren't the demons within them, but that doesn't change the fact that their creation is an atrocious act. An affront to nature itself! The Bijuu are forces of nature, yet you fools constantly attempt to do as you please with them. And then you always choose some _child_ to serve as the host. If you fools were really so righteous, you'd sacrifice _yourselves_ to become Jinchuuriki. Better were the days when a Village's strength and prestige were earned by its _shinobi_ rather than their _weapons_."

Feeling the tension in the room skyrocketing, Danzo quickly intervened. "We are not here to debate philosophy or the internal workings of our Villages." Turning to the Ame leader, Danzo continued. "Hanzo-dono, will you consent to this plan, despite the usage of Jinchuuriki?"

"Of course." Hanzo snorted once again. "I refuse to owe a debt to anyone, let alone _you_."

Danzo almost sighed in relief at that. Losing Hanzo after all of his efforts would have been disastrous to his plans. In point of fact, just _having_ Hanzo's support would make the others that much willing to go along with his scheme. Turning his eye over the others, he asked. "What say the rest of you?"

"Need you ask, Hokage-dono?" Shibuku asked with a wry smile.

"I need to hear some more details first." the Kazekage proclaimed. "Yet you have my interest, and my tentative support."

"I can't agree to this. What possible reason would Kusa have to get involved in something like this?" Jinkomaru growled. "You even admit that my nation will become the battleground if anything goes wrong, so why should I agree?"

"If it is war you fear, Jinkomaru-san." Shibuku spoke calmly –and subtly reminding the Kusa Jounin of his relative status compared to the others present. "Then refusing will surely bring it upon you."

"Is that a threat?" The Kusa nin growled as he and his comrade tensed.

"No, it is simply the truth of things." Shibuku answered as if he was chiding an unruly child. "If Kusa does not stand with us, then Iwa will only have _more_ incentive to go through Kusa no Kuni in order to reach Konoha. The only way to avoid this is to work with us."

"Well said, Shibuku-dono." Danzo agreed before continuing. "And as for what you'll gain…a one hundred mile chunk of territory along your northern border might not be the greatest reward, but then again, all you have to do in return is hold that land, and present a united front with Taki, Ame, and Suna. The rest will take care of itself."

Jinkomaru scowled for a moment, and looked like he was going to object once again, only to freeze as Hideki place a hand on his shoulder. "Remember Jinkomaru, we are here only to represent Kusagakure. The decision ultimately lies with the Jounin Council."

Jinkomaru visibly grit his teeth as he bit out, "You're right of course, Hideki-san. We must return to Kusagakure and inform the others of the Hokage's…_generous_ offer."

With that, the Kusa Jounin turned and left the room, but not before Hideki gave the others a slight nod.

Fighting the urge to grin at the subtle agreement of Kusagakure's strongest Jounin, he wasn't surprised when the Kazekage spoke up. "So what will we gain from this, Hokage-dono?" He asked with a calculative look in his eyes. "After all, you can't expect us to risk defying our Daimyo, not to mention our own military power, based solely on your wishes and some ink on a piece of paper?"

Shibuku gained an insulted look at that, yet Danzo intervened before anything could come of it. "Of course, Kazekage-dono. After all, I did promise it would be worth your while." Danzo agreed amicably. "Suna will be able to show the world that they are still a great power, and while Kaze won't gain a great deal of land in Tsuchi, what land you will gain is quite rich in mineral resources. Of course, during negotiations with the Tsuchikage, you were able to get him to consent to your...annexation...of Tori no Kuni. The nation might be small, yet they are quite wealthy. Wealthy enough to refill quite a few of your coffers. And if your Daimyo demands that you hand over control of Tori to one of his other vassals? Well, you will of course follow orders and withdraw your shinobi from Tori to assist in "administering" Kaze's new territory. If someone from Tori happens to steal a great deal of their treasury before the Kaze Samurai arrive? Well, you can hardly be blamed for following orders."

Though he couldn't see it, Danzo was sure the Kazekage smirked beneath his veil. "I think we understand each other, Hokage-dono. Although, I am curious." He said as he glanced over at Hanzo. "What does Ame gain from this?"

"You mean besides reclaiming a mineral rich portion of land from Tsuchi thieves?" Hanzo rasped with a shrug. "I could always use more slave labor."

After a few more minutes, the Kazekage and Hanzo also left with promises to be prepared by the set date. This left Danzo and Shibuku alone with their respective bodyguards.

"Suien, could you leave us alone for a while?" Shibuku ordered politely. "I wish to speak to the Hokage in private."

"Of course, Shibuku-sama." Suien acquiesced.

"Leave us, Torune." Danzo ordered his own guard, who promptly departed with Suien.

Once they were alone, they both sat silently, calmly sipping their tea. It was Shibuku who finally broke the silence. "You know there is no need for this, Hokage-dono. Taki keeps its Oaths, and as such, there is no need for bribes." Shibuku pointed out quietly yet with unmistakable strength in his voice. "Many of my people would find a conversation such as this insulting."

"I assure you, it is not my intention to bribe or insult you." Danzo said reassuringly. "I merely wish to see Konoha's oldest ally prosper and flourish. Especially after all your people have done for mine."

"Such sentiments are appreciated, yet unnecessary." Shibuku replied with a slight smile.

"Yet I would give them nonetheless." Was Danzo's rebuttal. "Unlike the land the others stand to gain, the part of Tsuchi that borders Taki is a desolate wasteland. It seems only fitting that Konoha aids you in another way."

"And what way is that?" Shibuku asked curiously.

Leaning towards him, Danzo put some carefully crafted emotion in his tone as he proclaimed. "In the reclaiming of Ishi no Kuni!"

That got the Taki nin's attention as he scowled angrily at the mere mention of that nation.

Shortly after the First Great Shinobi War, Iwagakure had sponsored and supported an uprising in what was then eastern Taki. An uprising that pitted those daimyo loyal to the Royal Family and the Shinobi of Takigakure in the west, against the rebels and traitors in the east. With the ninja of Takigakure weakened by the First Great War, the rebellion succeeded in splitting Taki in two, the densely forested Taki, and the mountainous Ishi.

Of course, while the mountainous Ishi _did_ possess significant mineral resources, they were in no way rich enough to do more than hold onto their current territory, let alone attempt to complete their takeover of Taki, even with Iwa's support.

The much more resource abundant Taki on the other hand, once it had replenished it Shinobi and Samurai forces, was more than capable of retaking Ishi. Unfortunately for Taki, by the time they deemed themselves ready, the Second Great Shinobi War had broken out. And with the Third War breaking out less than a decade after the Second ended...well, reclaiming Ishi just kept getting pushed back, much to the anger of Taki no Kuni.

"When?" Was all Shibuku asked.

"As soon as Kumo is defeated." He answered. "Once my forces return to Hi no Kuni, Iwa won't dare attempt to aid their "stone cousins" when you reclaim the land."

Shibuku remained silent for a while, before quietly asking, "What of the Oath Breakers?"

Danzo didn't need to ask to know who he was talking about. "The internal policies of Taki no Kuni are not mine to make."

Shibuku smiled again, though this smile was neither polite nor friendly. It was a vicious, predatory smile, one that Danzo mirrored as his plans came together.

* * *

"You seem distracted, Naruto-kun." Ebisu-sensei's voice shook Naruto from his thoughts with a start. "Is there something bothering you?"

For a moment, Naruto fidgeted, looking anywhere but at Ebisu-sensei so he wouldn't see the look of disappointment that his teacher was surely sending at him. He'd never been particularly good at hiding things from his teacher, and despite searching for any way he could avoid answering the man, when he finally spoke the words just poured out. "I didn't do very well in Ame." That was _not _what he had intended to say, yet the floodgates might as well have been thrown open because the words just kept coming. "I kept screwing up, and Tsunade had to save me _twice_, and then I got _lost_ of all things, and how come I've never been taught how to navigate underground, and I almost _died _a bunch of times, and Hanzo kept _looking_ at me and-" Naruto snapped his mouth shut, feeling his cheeks burning at _babbling_ at his sensei like that. Surely his sensei was embarrassed to have taught him if he was still chattering away like an overexcited child.

So he was surprised when his sensei moved around the low table to sit next to him with a comforting hand on his shoulder. "So you feel you did not perform adequately in Ame no Kuni?" Ebisu asked with a rueful snort. "I sometimes forget how young you truly are, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's head snapped up to protest that he was _not_ young, only to be interrupted as his teacher continued. "That's not an insult, Naruto-kun. Merely an acknowledgment of a fact that even the Godaime forgets at times." Ebisu fixed him with a look that demanded attention, and so Naruto reluctantly refrained from defending the Godaime. "Tell me Naruto-kun, how many missions have you received since you became a shinobi?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Just the one in Ame no Kuni, sensei." Naruto answered; slightly confused as to why Ebisu would ask a question he already knew the answer to.

"Yes, just one." Ebisu agreed with a nod. "Your very first mission, something every young ninja looks forward to with excitement. And most are rather disappointed with the D-rank missions that they start off with. You on the other hand, were sent out of the Village, to a foreign country, to help end a Shinobi civil war. An S-rank mission, when most your age haven't even left the Academy yet. _That_ was your first mission. In all honesty, you shouldn't have been called on for such a task so early in your career."

Naruto scowled at that, yet Ebisu once again overrode him before he could try to object. "So, while on your first mission -as a Genin no less- you were sent to take part in a civil war in one of the most war-torn nations on the continent, and you're upset that you didn't perform flawlessly? Having high standards isn't a bad thing Naruto-kun, but unfounded arrogance most certainly is."

"But I'm Konoha's Jinchuuriki!" Naruto protested with a hint of frustrated despair. "I'm supposed to be better than this! Everyone is counting on me to protect Konoha, and to keep everyone safe! The mission in Ame was of critical importance, and I was such a burden that Tsunade had to go out of her way to protect me!"

For his part, Ebisu just sat quietly throughout his explosion, before suddenly asking, "Naruto-kun, do you remember Konoha's mission ranking system? Specifically, the difference between D and S-rank missions?"

Naruto blinked yet again, before automatically reciting, "Konoha's mission ranking system is divided into difficulty ranks of S, A, B, C and D and then given to ninja based on their ability. The easiest and least deadly jobs are given to Genin, and are labeled D-Rank. The D-Rank missions also help to build teamwork skills among the new Ninja Academy graduates. D-Ranks are therefore non-combat with low pay. S-ranks on the other hand are the highest ranked and most dangerous missions, given only to Jounin. These missions include assassination of important persons, transporting classified documents and materials. With the extreme danger comes a very high rate of pay."

Ebisu nodded approvingly. "Good, so you haven't forgotten. For a moment there, I'd feared you had received some sort of head trauma on your mission. So, just to clarify, S-rank missions are _only_ given to Jounin or teams of Jounin, yes? And as a Genin, _you_ should have been given mostly D-rank missions?"

Naruto sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. Ebisu-sensei was usually pretty smart, so it was irritating that he seemed to keep missing the crux of the issue. "But I'm _not_ just a Genin. I'm the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and-"

"Stop using that as a crutch." Ebisu interrupted sternly. "Being a Jinchuuriki does not make you a Jounin, nor does it make you as capable as one. It doesn't even make you a shinobi. It is simply a part of you, just as your blond hair is, or your blue eyes. One part of the whole that makes you who you are."

Naruto looked up at his teacher uncertainly. Ever since he'd first learned what he was, Naruto's status as a Jinchuuriki had been the focal point of his life. It was what made him unique, and gave him a purpose. What else was he if not Konoha's greatest weapon?

As if he could read him mind, Ebisu smiled reassuringly. "I've never met anyone who already knew their place in the world, and their responsibility to it by the time they were seven-years-old, Naruto-kun. I'll be twenty-two soon, and even I am still searching for my place. Teaching is something I love doing, but it doesn't make me who I am. I'm also a fairly decent sketch artist, yet that doesn't define me."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, understanding some of what his teacher was saying, but still experiencing some doubts. "…but I screwed up the mission…"

"And that will be a learning experience, if you let it. Or it will destroy you, if you choose to let it. No one can force you to do one or the other." Ebisu replied as he stood up once more. "My own teacher once told me, 'If you can do something perfect once, you should be able to do it every time'. In this respect, my sensei was a fool. Nothing ever happens exactly the same way after all, and what was perfect in one situation, may be disastrous in another. Someday perhaps, you'll be expected to perform flawlessly. Until then, accept your mistakes for what they are and strive to prevent them from happening again. As _your _teacher, I can quite confidently say that I'm pleased with your performance on the mission. You survived an S-rank, and helped ensure that it was a success. I'm given to understand that you even killed the rebel leader, something that even Hanzo himself had been unable to do by that point. I don't know any other Genin who could make such a claim."

"Yes sensei." Naruto nodded with a small smile, feeling at least a little reassured that his sensei at least seemed pleased with his progress.

"I agree." Naruto jumped slightly and whirled around to see the Godaime Hokage approaching them. "According to the others, you performed quite well Naruto-kun, especially when this was only supposed to be a means of giving you some combat experience. I most certainly did not expect you to take on and defeat the rebel leader himself." Danzo continued as Naruto quickly stood to bow alongside his sensei. "You've exceeded my expectations completely, Naruto-kun, and it gives me great pleasure to present you with this."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as an Anbu appeared next to the Hokage, handing a Chuunin flak jacket to Danzo, who in turn presented it to Naruto.

"Naruto Uzumaki, know that reposing special trust and confidence in your fidelity and abilities, I hereby promote to the rank of Chuunin. As such, do you vow to carefully and diligently discharge the duties of the rank to which you have been appointed by doing and performing all manner of things thereunto pertaining?"

Wide-eyed, Naruto swallowed as he accepted the flak jacket and answered, "I do."

The Hokage nodded, before continuing on with the ceremony. "And I do strictly charge and require all personnel of lesser rank to render obedience to appropriate orders. You are to observe and follow such orders and directions as may be given from time to time by Superiors acting according to the rules and articles governing the discipline of the Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato." That said, the Godaime smiled lightly and reached out a hand to clasp him on the shoulder. "You've done well, Naruto-kun. Konoha is proud of you. Go ahead and try it on."

Naruto gave a start at that, before hurriedly slipping the vest on and zipping it up. It was heavier than he'd expected, even fitted for his size as it was. Of course, while he knew there was supposed to be a layer of chainmail in between the layers of tightly woven fiber, but this seemed not only heavier, but also more…flexible then he'd been led to believe.

"It's a new design that the Anbu have been working on." Tsunade explained, startling Naruto yet again. He hadn't even noticed she'd been there. "Instead of the usual chainmail, this vest has two-inch-wide circular titanium discs overlapping like scale armor between the standard stab resistant fibers." Tsunade continued with oddly shiny eyes, a strange mixture of emotions dancing in them that Naruto couldn't begin to identify. Although, if it didn't make any sense, Naruto could swear that he saw both worry _and_ pride in her eyes.

Grinning at her, Naruto twisted his body through several katas, pleased to note that there didn't seem to be any problems with the addition of the flak jacket. And it made him look like such a _badass_ too.

"Work hard, Naruto-kun." The Hokage said as he nodded approvingly. "Konoha will have need of you again soon enough. I trust you'll be ready when the time comes."

Naruto bowed again, unable to wipe away his grin as he noticed that that wasn't a question. And because of that bow, he didn't see the anger in Tsunade's eyes, or the way her fists clenched.

"You can count on me, Hokage-sama!" He already had several ideas he wanted to try out, though only the one came about from the mission in Ame. If he was going to rely on poisons, then he was going to need more than one way to administer it. And there was that Ninjutsu project he'd been working on for the last year…

"Don't get too cocky." Tsunade said gruffly as she stepped between him and the Hokage. "Just because you're a Chuunin now doesn't mean you should be reckless, or that you should push yourself any harder than you already are. In fact, you should take a least the next week off from training and just relax. Doctor's orders."

"A week!" Naruto squeaked in disbelief. "But I've got all these new ideas, and I want to get used to my vest!"

"That can wait." Tsunade replied firmly with her arms crossed. "You spend too much time training as it is, and you've got a lot of work ahead of you. No sense adding to it, and especially not without proper rest and decompression time."

"But-!" Naruto tried to object as he sent a horrified look at the Hokage for assistance. A whole week without training? He'd go _crazy_ with boredom!

"No buts." Tsunade barked sternly. "Iryoujutsu is one of the most demanding of the Shinobi Arts. Even Genjutsu isn't as difficult as what you'll be learning."

"…Iryoujutsu?" Naruto asked cautiously, feeling an oddly fierce surge of excitement though he didn't understand why.

* * *

"That's right." Tsunade nodded. "You and I have a lot of work ahead of us to get you caught up to where you should be, and I won't have you burning yourself out before we even get started."

Her son chewed at his lip for a second, before thrusting his hand towards him with three fingers held up. "Three days!"

Tsunade blinked, before scowling as she realized what Naruto was trying to do. "This isn't a negotiation brat. One week."

"Three days!" Naruto repeated as he glared at her stubbornly. "I'll take three days off and then we'll get started.

Tsunade matched his glare and leaned down over him. "One. Week. Period."

Undeterred, Naruto tilted his head up to keep up his glare. "But I'll be so _bored_!" Naruto whined. "Hokage-sama, make her see reason!"

Tsunade glared over her shoulder at the old bastard, _daring_ him to countermand her on this. Bad enough that her own son was asking the very man who'd stolen his childhood and heritage to help him sway her. They had less than a month before Danzo's planned invasion of Kaminari, and she'd be damned if her son wasn't fully prepared to take care of himself. She was going to _cram_ that thick skull of his full of Iryoujutsu and anatomy lessons, even if she had to devote every waking second to it!

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Tsunade-hime, Naruto-kun." Danzo said, much to her relief. "Even the Shodai knew when to rest. And Tsunade is not only your personal doctor; she's one of the greatest Medic-nin in the world. If she wishes for you to rest, you should do so."

Tsunade felt a guilty sense of satisfaction at Naruto's sheer disappointment at Danzo's words. Anything that drove a wedge between her son and that bastard was a good thing in her mind.

"Not to mention the fact that one of the Sannin is offering to train you personally. Something that many have outright _begged_ her to do. I believe you will be only the second to be granted such an honor." Danzo added with a hint of amusement.

Naruto perked up at that with a look of shock, as if he'd truly forgotten those facts. Of course, it's understandable that after spending his entire life around her –even if he couldn't consciously remember the first five years- that he might forget that most considered her a legendary kunoichi. He spun back to face her with a desperate look. "Four days?" he asked hopefully.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her son's actions, before finally conceding with a huff. "Six days. No less."

"Fine." Naruto drawled with a pout as he crossed his arms moodily. "But only because you asked. I totally could start training right now, no problem!"

Struggling not to coo at how adorable he looked when he pouted, Tsunade reached down to make yet another futile attempt to smooth his hair out. As always, Naruto tolerated her attempts for about four seconds before wrestling her hand away. "It's already pretty late, Naruto-chan, so why don't you go on and get ready for bed? I'll come see you before you go to sleep and we can plan out what you're going to be doing for the next few days. Something fun and relaxing I think."

Naruto stared at her for several more seconds; as if by looking just a little more piteous she would give in and let him train to his heart's desire, before finally giving up. "Fine…" he drawled as if conceding to a ridiculous demand before suddenly brightening. "I know what we can do! Let's go climbing!"

And just like that, Tsunade felt a pit open up in her stomach. "I don't think so. I said something fun and _relaxing_, not death-defying!" That habit of his was the _one_ thing Tsunade wouldn't mind if he forgot. Sadly, her luck seemed as terrible as ever as Naruto drew up indignantly.

"What are you talking about?" he squawked huffily. "Climbing _is_ relaxing! And fun too! What more could you possibly want?"

"Something that doesn't give me a heart attack for one!" Tsunade growled back. "Do you think I've forgotten how reckless you are when it comes to that damn hobby of yours?"

Naruto threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Well, if you won't let me train, and _now_ you won't let me climb, what the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Something safe!"

"Climbing is _perfectly_ safe!"

Tsunade matched her son glare for glare, wanting nothing more than to forbid him from so much as climbing a _tree_, much less whatever he had in mind. And yet…a month from now Naruto would be going to war, a full blown war nonetheless. And as much as he tended to scare her to the point of heart attacks, Naruto _loved_ climbing, always had. As much as she didn't want to, Tsunade knew she couldn't deny him this.

Giving out a great sigh –and reminding herself that _she_ was the adult in this situation- Tsunade fixed her son with a stern look. "_Fine,_ we'll go climbing tomorrow. But we're going to be safe, understand?"

She smiled lovingly at Naruto as he beamed at her happily, and just like that their argument was swept under the rug, her son happily chatting away about the cliff face he'd seen during his last training exercise that he'd been dying to conquer.

That smile became a little fixed as he described the cliff, which to her sounded less and less like fun and more and more like one of those deathtraps she'd seen utilized by Iwa as a defensive position during the wars.

* * *

**Translations:**

Sakin=Gold Dust

Iryoujutsu=Medical Ninjutsu

Did I miss any?

* * *

**AN: **There you go, chapter 9. It's finally time for the long awaited war with Kumo.

What did you think of Danzo's scheme? With the exception of Taki, I'm trying to keep the Hidden Villages as backstabbing and untrusting as they're supposed to be. That's why I tried to give each of the other Hidden Villages a reason to get involved that directly benefited them, rather than because of some treaty that means less than nothing to them. Taking advantage of Onoki's manipulative/backstabbing habits in order to both make him look bad and keep him from getting directly involved in the coming war. Something that rather important in order to keep if from becoming the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Of course, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

Hanzo's speech is heavily inspired by the opening speech from the first Killzone game. In point of fact, I'm basing a lot of what I have planned for Hanzo/Amegakure on the Helghast from Killzone.

Ebisu's speech was...weird to me. Not quite sure how much I got across in that scene. The general idea I wanted him to impart to Naruto -and the reader- was that just because Naruto was a Jinchuuriki and being utilized as such, does not make him an unstoppable killing machine at age seven. He's certainly more_ powerful_, more _dangerous_ than just about any other seven year old -and many other, older ninja- but he's still relatively inexperienced. Before the battle in Ame, he'd never been in a _real_ life or death battle. Militaries all over the world try to train as realistically as possible -train as we fight is the saying in my nation- but it's still not _quite_ the same as the real deal.

As always, all reviews, suggestions, criticisms, etc are welcome.

Peace, Vaan.


End file.
